


Playing with fire

by lecmat



Category: NCIS
Genre: Action, F/M, Friendship, Love, Romance, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:54:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 50,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25248748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lecmat/pseuds/lecmat
Summary: Part 1:What if Renée Benoit never had a daughter but a son. Ziva is the one sent on a mission to get close to La grenouille's son. How is Tony going to react when he sees Ziva dating someone ?Happens during season 8. Ray and Jeanne never existed.Part 2:The team have to take car of a toddler during a missionPart 3: (coming soon)Tony and Ziva are tracked in Iran by NCIS, FBI, CIA and MOSSAD for a terrorist attack they have not committed. They can only trust each other.
Relationships: Ziva David/Anthony DiNozzo
Comments: 4
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

Everything is dark. Everything is painful. Everything is confused. Her eyes are still closed when she moves her hand to her forehead. Raising her arm feels like the most difficult thing in the world. Her body is shaking. She can feel the coldness of the floor tiles under her body but she knows that she’s not shaking because of it. Her body is still traumatized by the fierceness of the fight that just occurred. She touches her skin, right above her eyebrow and feels something sticky. She does not remember where she is or what happened. She’s breathing fast but yet she feels like she’s out of breath. Every breath is unbelievably painful. She knows that pain. She has experienced it way too many times. Broken ribs. She looks around her and she sees bodies and blood. She tries to lift herself from the floor. She places her hands on the floor and pushes. A terrible pain hit her and she collapses on the floor. Her left wrist and shoulder are probably broken. She passes out as soon as her head touches the floor. A few minutes later she hears a big crack coming from afar. She gathered all her last strength to focus on the sound. She is still incapable of opening her eyes and even if she could, the only thing she would see, would be blurred. She hears and feels footsteps on the wooden floor. They are coming in her direction. She can’t fight, she’s too weak and wounded. The door opens and the last thing she hears is her name shouted by a familiar voice: ⠀  
-“I’VE FOUND HER ! ZIVA !”⠀  
And then nothing. ⠀  
Everything is dark again. ⠀

\-----------------------------------

A few months earlier. Inside the bullpen.  
-“come on ! It’s gonna be fun ! First rounds on me. You’re in McGee ?”  
-“no I told you Tony I can’t tonight”  
-“raah! come on ! McGeek, you’ll have plenty of time to play your online games another day. We are talking about real party here, with real people and real alcohol”  
McGee grabbed his bag and left the room. Tony turned to Ziva:  
-“what about you David ? You’re in?”  
Ziva was packing her bag. Her mind was elsewhere. She raised her head and said:  
-“Sorry. Another day maybe”  
-“come on! Don’t tell me that you have an online contest to attend too”  
Ziva chuckled:  
-“you know I don’t… When I play… I play for real”  
She walked past Tony’s desk in order to leave but Tony was not done with her. She has been very absent minded recently and she was not hanging out with him as much as she used to. He asked:  
-“going on a date ?”  
-“why do you want to know what I’m going to do tonight Tony ?”  
-“Why don’t you wanna answer the question Zee-Vah ?”  
He looked at her with his smartass look. Her eyes narrowed. She threw her bag over her shoulder and nonchalantly nodded to him:  
-“goodnight Tony”  
Tony shouted:  
-”COME ON! IT’S FRIDAY NIGHT ! THIS IS VERY UN-AMERICAN ZIVA ! EVEN FOR YOU ”  
And she walked out with a smile, knowing that Tony now had a thousand of questions in his mind. 

\-----------------------------------

She was right. He was now struggling with thousands of questions. Was she seeing someone ? Was it serious ? He could not stop thinking about it all night. She had been more secretive lately. She was receiving a lot more text messages than she used to. She was leaving work early and she was not getting to work as early as she used to. But something was reassuring. He had never seen her walking in the bullpen with the same clothes she was wearing the day before. He had to be sure. He grabbed his phone and dialled her number. After only 2 ringback tones his call was sent to voicemail. She was ghosting him. She had probably seen his name on the phone and she had intentionally rejected his call. She was never doing that. It was like a tacit agreement between them and she was breaking it. Tony suddenly had a furious need to jump in his car and go to her place. She would be mad, but he could pretend that he was worried because she was not answering his calls. He thought about it for several long minutes and then resigned himself that she was probably not at her place anyway. 

Same time, on the other side of D.C.  
Inside a crowded bar in downtown D.C. Ziva was leaning on a table when her phone rang. She looked at the name on the screen: ‘TONY D’. He was never gonna give up. A man walked to her and placed 2 beers on the table. Ziva quickly tapped on the “reject” button of her phone and put back on her smiling and cheering attitude.  
-”Sorry it took me so long. I thought I was going to lose an arm out there”  
Ziva chuckled. He grabbed his beer and raised it in front of his face. She did the same and asked:  
-”what are we cheering to ?”  
He took a moment to think:  
-”To all the random things that helped us meet each other ?”  
Ziva swallowed hard as she heard his last words. It wasn’t noticeable but it was there. 

\-----------------------------------

The next morning. Bullpen.  
Tony grumbled when the door of the elevator dinged. He grumbled as he walked to his desk. He grumbled as he threw his bag to the floor and as he collapsed on his chair. Ziva raised her eyes from her computer screen and said:  
-”Good morning Tony!”  
Tony’s eyes narrowed:  
-”There is no good morning here.. It’s monday.. Monday and good doesn’t fit in the same phrase !”  
Ziva rolled her eyes and said:  
-”looks like someone woke up on the wrong bed this morning”  
-”I woke up in my own bed this morning Zee-vah but not on the right side. The real question is did you wake up in the right bed ?”  
Ziva eyes narrowed. She knew what he was implying. McGee looked at his co-workers. He could feel the tension in the atmosphere. It was going to be a long day. Ziva was still staring at Tony. She was trying to decide if she wanted to deal with this peacefully or not. She asked:  
-”In which bed I woke up this morning is none of your business Tony”  
Tony was about to argue when Gibbs rushed in:  
-”Our missing marine probably hadn’t the chance to wake up this morning. Grab your gear”  
The three agents jumped from their chairs and grabbed their bags. In less than 10 seconds they were on their way to the elevator. As the door closed Tony was staring at Ziva from the back of the elevator. She was hiding something. She was usually pretty secretive about her personal life but this time she was not just protecting her private life, she was hiding something. 

\-----------------------------------

Crime scene - Fredericksburg, VA⠀  
In the car the atmosphere was tensed. Nobody was talking. Usually Tony was always commenting and complaining on everything, especially on Monday. But today his mind was still focused on the events from last night. The NCIS car stopped in front of a beautiful farmhouse. In front of the house was a horse, with its saddle on. it was covered with blood. Not far from it, a woman was sobbing. The team stepped out of the car. Ziva looked at the horse and said:⠀  
-”oh my god. What is that !”⠀  
Tony put on his sunglasses and sighed:⠀  
-”It’s a horse Ziva. I’m sure you have those in Israel” ⠀  
Ziva made him moan with a violent nudge on his side. ⠀  
Gibbs intervened:⠀  
-”are you two done ?”⠀  
Tony apologized before Gibbs gave everyone instructions: ⠀  
-”Ziva, the wife. McGee, samples. Tony, pictures”⠀  
After 20 minutes of questioning, Ziva came back outside and gave her report to Gibbs:⠀  
-”Lieutenant Bobby Bradford. Left his home last evening on his horse. Her wife thought he had stopped by a friend’s house for the night as he used to do sometimes. She was awakened by the horse neighing and she called the authorities right away when she saw the blood on the horse. She says that her husband did not had any quarrel recently or in the past” ⠀  
Tony stood up and said:⠀  
-”This amount of blood augurs nothing good boss” ⠀  
For his only answer Gibbs nodded and walk away to check on the research team. ⠀  
Ziva walked to the horse and stroked his forehead:⠀  
-”that’s a beautiful Akhal-Teke”⠀  
McGee looked surprised:⠀  
-”Looks like someone is well acquainted on the subject ?”⠀  
-”I used to ride one when I was in Israel..”⠀  
Tony could not resist. He took a picture of the horse and Ziva and said:⠀  
-”really.. And what else have you been riding recently ?” ⠀  
His smartass smile vanished when Gibbs’ hand hit the back of his head. ⠀  
-”Sorry boss.. Totally inappropriate”⠀  
-”Don’t apologize to me DiNozzo” ⠀  
-”Sorry Ziva” ⠀

\-----------------------------------

The team was now searching through the nearby forest to find a trace of Lieutenant Bradford’s body. Tony was walking with McGee. He looked in Ziva’s direction. She had walked away from them when her phone rang. Tony asked McGee:  
-”Have you noticed something different about Ziva recently ?”  
-”Apart from the fact that you are jealous, no I haven’t noticed anything”  
Tony chuckled:  
-”Jealous ? Me ? Of Ziva. You are mistaking me with someone else McWrong”  
-”You are not jealous of Ziva, you are jealous of the man she is dating..”  
Tony was speechless for a second, which meant a lot. McGee was looking at him with a victorious smile. Tony grumbled something inaudible and finally added:  
-”Alright McGullible. Then how do you explain that she has two cell phones.. Who needs two cell phones ?”  
McGee was about to answer when he noticed that Ziva was coming back to them.  
Gibbs reached them too. Tony was hanging onto every words about to be spoken by him, hoping that he might be saved from turning the forest upside down, looking for something that was probably not there anyway.  
Gibbs said:  
-”Ziver! With me. You two, stay here and keep looking”  
Tony complained:  
-”Why is she the one coming back to NCIS with you”  
Gibbs walked to him with threatening eyes and said:  
-”Because she is focused and you are not… Do you have something to say about my orders DiNozzo ?”  
Tony ducked his head and said:  
-”nothing to say boss..”  
Ziva looked at him with a mocking smile and winked. 

\-----------------------------------  
⠀  
A few hours later. Bullpen. ⠀  
Tony and McGee walked in. Tony threw his bag to the floor next to his desk. He was grumbling again. Ziva raised her eyes from her screen and said:⠀  
-”I’ve already seen that scene today…” ⠀  
Tony looked at her and grimaced. He grumbled:⠀  
-”We walked for hours in that damn forest for nothing !” ⠀  
He was trying to get rid of pine needles on his jacket. Ziva stood up and walked to Tony’s desk. She stopped right between the two screens of his computer and leaned over:⠀  
-”Is this really what’s bothering you Tony ? Is it the idea that you did this for nothing or the fact that you did this and I did not ?” ⠀  
Tony’s eyes narrowed. He had to stay really focus on her face but her plunging neckline was very appealing for his eyes. He managed to keep focused and said:⠀  
-”Well I just hope that your little time here had been useful and that you’ve found something interesting to please the boss man” ⠀  
Ziva smirked and walked back to her desk:⠀  
-”Maybe…”⠀  
Tony was intrigued:⠀  
-”What is it ?”⠀  
-”You’ll see…”⠀  
Gibbs rushed in and barked:⠀  
-”talk to me”⠀  
Ziva, McGee and Tony stood in front of the plasma screen and Ziva started:⠀  
-”I’ve looked through Lieutenant Bradford’s file. No criminal record, no debts, not even a speeding ticket. This man was a saint”⠀  
Tony cut her off by saying:⠀  
-”Saints do not end up murdered in a forest Ziva…” ⠀  
Ziva threw a dark look at him and clicked the remote. She gave her theory about the possible involvement of the victims step brother and waited on Gibbs’ approval. ⠀  
Gibbs was convinced by her theory and he sent her and Tony to look for more information about their suspect. Ziva sighed. She knew that if she was alone with Tony he would not stop asking her questions and she was too tired to focus on her lies. She grabbed her coat and followed him to the elevator. ⠀

\-----------------------------------

On the car on their way to Bradford’s house. Ziva was quiet. She was looking through the window, hoping that by some miracle, Tony might forget that she was there.  
His eyes were more often on her than on the road. She was tensed. He started:  
-“so.. how did you met him ?”  
-“how did I met who ?”  
-“come on Ziva, I’m not that stupid you know.. was it at a bar ? Dinner with mutual friends ? Oh I forget, you have no friends.. oh don’t tell me it’s one of those dating apps”  
Ziva looked offended:  
-“I do have friends.. and no I’ve never used those apps… why do you wanna know how we met ?”  
-“so you admit there is someone…”  
-“I’ve never denied it..”  
This was followed by a series of quick questions and answers, each of them trying to trick the other. Tony started:  
-“he approached you or you approached him ?”  
-“he did”  
-“does he makes you laugh ?”  
-“yes”  
-“as much as I do ?”  
-“what’s that supposed to mean ?”  
-“first kiss ?”  
-“maybe”  
-“Is it serious ?”  
-“I do not know.. why do you care ?”  
Tony stepped on the brakes. Ziva moaned at the sudden stop and caught hold on the dashboard. His eyes still focused on hers. He was fighting the urges to yell her that he cared because he was in love with her, because imagining her in someone else’s arms was unbearably painful and this idea was keeping him awake every night. But this would be worse. Ziva was looking at him, challenging him to answer the question with honesty. But he could not. Telling her would put him in a weakened position. They stayed for an entire minute looking at each other. Quiet, but their eyes were saying so much. Until Tony unfastened his seatbelt and bitterly said before stepping out from the car:  
-”We should not let our witness wait”  
Ziva looked at Tony walking to the front door. He was hurt, even if he would never admit it and she was the one hurting him. She was making him one of the collateral damage and she hated that. 

\-----------------------------------

2 hours later - Back inside the bullpen  
Tony and Ziva were back. The investigation was following its course. Everyone was pretty quiet. McGee glanced at his coworkers. They were both ignoring each other politely but he could clearly see that their minds were not focused on the case. Ziva’s phone rang and it dragged everyone out of their drowsiness. Tony pricked up his ears. Ziva tried to speak as low as possible:  
-“yes David… yes… tell the Director I’ll be there in a minute”  
She hung up the phone and glanced at her coworkers. They were both staring at her. She stood up and walked to the Director’s office knowing that this meeting would bring even more questions.  
As she disappeared upstairs Tony turned to McGee and asked:  
-“she has a meeting with the Director almost every week..”  
-“so what ? She’s working here, there’s nothing strange about that..”  
-“when was the last time you had a meeting in Vance’s office ?”  
McGee took a second to think and finally agreed:  
-“alright there might be something strange about that. What do you think ?”  
-“What if she wants to leave ?”  
-“Ziva ? Leaving… pff.. no way. She’s part of the team why would she want to leave us ?”  
-“Maybe because she met someone.. and that someone wants her to follow him somewhere else…”  
McGee had to admit that this was a possibility. 

\-----------------------------------

Inside of Vance’s office.  
As she arrived in front of Vance’s office, Ziva was welcomed by Pamela, Vance’s secretary. She told Ziva that the Director was waiting for her. She knocked and entered. Vance welcomed her:  
-“Agent David, please come in. It’s good to see that my door can finally be treated like a door”  
Ziva smiled. Her boss was usually not bothering to knock on the door before coming in. Ziva walked in and stood in front of Vance’s desk:  
-“please sit down…”  
She did so, Vance continued:  
-“how are things going on with your assignment ?”  
-“so far so good. I’ve gained access to some information about his father. It’s not much but I hope I’ll be able to get more next time”  
-“Every piece of intel that you can get on ‘La Grenouille’ is something getting us closer to him”  
Ziva was tensed and Vance noticed it.  
-“There is something bothering you, am I right ?”  
She hesitated for a second then she said:  
-“Tony have been asking a lot of questions recently.. If I could tell him about my assignment maybe…”  
Vance cut her off:  
-”I thought I had been pretty clear when I assigned you to this mission: This is off-the-books. No one can know”  
-”I know but... “  
-”can I ask you one question agent David ?”  
Ziva looked surprised:  
-”of course…”  
-”What is the most important thing for you ? Stopping an international arms dealer or agent DiNozzo’s well being during this mission ?”  
This was not fair. She had always been loyal to NCIS. She had sacrificed herself many times for the sake of the agency. But when it came to Tony, things were tricky. Ziva swallowed hard and calmly answered:  
-”The mission, Director”  
-”So there is nothing more to discuss. Keep mister Benoit and his father close and Agent DiNozzo away and everything will be over soon..”  
Ziva turned on her heels and reached the door. As she grabbed the handle, Vance said:  
-”Agent David… I hope that you are more convincing when you are lying to Mister Benoit…”  
He knew she had lied about caring more about the mission than Tony. She had tried her best to hide her reaction but her eyes were never lying when it comes to Tony. Ziva nodded and walked out of the office. She had to stay focused. This mission was making her uncomfortable but she had agreed to achieve it and she had always kept her commitment. She walked back to the bullpen even more tense than before. Tony and McGee were giving some updates to Gibbs. When Ziva walked in, Tony could not take his eyes from her. He knew that whatever this meeting was about, it didn’t go as planned for her. 

\-----------------------------------

The same day, at night. ⠀  
It was late. The case would not progress further today. Gibbs sent his agents home. The room was dark. Only the desk lights were lighting the bullpen. Ziva was packing her bag. She could feel Tony’s eyes on her. She was avoiding them. She knew Tony had this power to read her eyes. It was just the two of them and she was about to leave. It was now or never. He grabbed his bag and walked to her desk. He was looking at her with concern. She was tense all day. There was something serious going on and he had not been helping with his smartass attitude. He began:⠀  
-”Hey… Do you wanna talk about it ?” ⠀  
She raised her head and said:⠀  
-”About what ?”⠀  
-”You know.. The thing on your mind all day.. Is there something I can do ?” ⠀  
She smiled. She felt the urge to hug him. She was not very fond of physical contact but once again, it was different with him, just like everything else. She wanted to hug him, to tell him how sorry she was to lock him out of her life. She wanted to hug him to thank him to still try to be her friend no matter what. She wanted to tell him everything but she could not. Lying was hurting him but it was also protecting him. She placed her hand on his forearm and said:⠀  
-”Don’t worry.. I am fine..” ⠀  
She grabbed her bag, skirted her desk and stopped right next to him. She cupped his cheek and landed a sweet and tender kiss on it. This was clearly not a kiss you are supposed to give to a coworker. But has he ever been just a coworker to her ? She whispered:⠀  
-”goodnight Tony”⠀  
And walked to the elevator. Tony looked at her walking away from him. He hated the idea that she could keep secrets away from him. He hated that she might be dealing with something serious and that he could not help her.

\-----------------------------------

Tony was driving his car in the empty streets of D.C. He had spent the evening in a bar in downtown D.C. He chuckled at the idea that he was always going to this place when he was alone and sad. ‘How depressing’ he thought. He inevitably ended up in front of her apartment. The lights were still on. She was not asleep yet. He thought about going to her apartment to confront her once and for all. He knew this was a bad idea. He was depressed and a bit intoxicated. Nothing good could come out of it. But this could not last forever. He had to talk to her or at least he could just stop by and spend some time with her. As they used to do before. He stepped out of his car and walked to the building. He stopped in front of her door and gathered all his courage. He checked his breath to be sure that he was not smelling like an alcoholic and knocked. He waited a few seconds until he heard the lock getting opened and the door finally moved. Tony was confused and speechless. A man was standing in front of him. He was younger than him, pretty good looking. It was him. The man on the phone. Tony cursed himself in his mind. He should have known he would be there. He was furious to see another man in her apartment. The man seemed pretty confused by Tony’s attitude. He asked:  
-”Yes ?”  
Tony only managed to articulate a simple:  
-”hi..”  
-”Can I do something for you ?”  
-”Hmm.. I’m Tony… I was looking for..”  
The man smiled and said:  
-”oh Tony.. Yes.. You are looking for Gina ? She’s in the shower right now. Please come in”  
Tony was confused. Gina ? Was that the name she gave him ? Why would she be lying about her name ? He said:  
-”Gina… yes…”  
-”She told me a lot about you.. You are working together right.. Oh by the way I am Daniel, everyone calls me Dan but I am sure Gina already told you that..”  
Dan held his hand out to Tony, who shook it with a lot of confidence. He made sure to squeeze as much as he could and said:  
-”actually no, she did not…”  
-”wow that’s quite a grip that you have there..”  
Tony smiled. He was definitely feeling better. She was hiding things from him but most of all she was hiding everything from that man. Tony said:  
-”you know what .. I’ll see ‘Gina’ tomorrow at work.. It’s getting late.. And please.. Don’t tell her that I stopped by.. It would get her worried that something’s wrong at work.. Goodnight Sam..”  
-”hm.. It’s Dan..”  
Tony knew exactly what his name was.  
-”oh you’re right.. Silly me.. Goodnight Dan..”  
He walked out of the apartment with a lightened heart but a still concerned mind. 

\-----------------------------------

The next morning - Bullpen  
When Ziva walked out of the elevator she was surprised to find Tony, already sitting at his desk. He was never there before her. She walked passed his desk and placed her bag on hers:  
-”Good morning Tony”  
-”You are right, it is a good morning for me. Is it a good morning for you, GINA ?”  
He looked at her with provocative eyes. She immediately tensed up and looked around to see if anyone was listening. She rushed to his desk, grabbed him by his jacket and led him to the elevator. The door opened and she pulled him inside. She immediately stopped the elevator. The lights went out and she asked:  
-”how do you know ?” Her tone was a mix of anger and anxiety.  
-”I had a pretty informative talk last night with.. What’s his name again ? oh yes Dan”  
-”what did you say ?”  
He bitterly said:  
-”Don’t worry I didn’t blow your cover ! Actually.. He did all the talking. You talked about me to him.. That’s interesting..”  
She was furious:  
-”You should not have talked to him”  
-”why ? you did not want to give me answers.. I had to find another way”  
She almost yelled:  
-”There is a reason why I was not answering your questions Tony ! You could not stop yourself, could you ?”  
-”I didn’t do anything. I stopped by your apartment, he opened the door and he called you Gina”  
-”Why did you have to come ?”  
He walked closer to her. His body was almost pressing her against the wall of the elevator. He locked his eyes in hers and said:  
-”Because I needed answers. I am losing my best friend and I don’t know why”  
His last words acted like a bomb in her mind. He was losing her. She was hurting him for no reason. Telling him would not jeopardize the mission. She hesitated:  
-“I can’t tell you Tony”  
-“Why ?”  
-“because Vance..”  
He cut her off with anger in his voice:  
-“Fuck Vance… there’s only you and me in this room…”  
She glanced at his lips. They were so close to hers and so attractive. She focused back and said:  
-“I will explain everything to you… just not here.. not now…”  
As she finished her sentence, she pushed on the button to restart the elevator. The lights went on again. Their bodies were still very close and the sexual tension in the air was still very high. He adjusted his jacket to act as if nothing had happened.

[TO BE CONTINUED]


	2. Chapter 2

Later on, the body of the missing marine was found. Gibbs and McGee were gone to interrogate a suspect. Only Ziva and Tony were in the bullpen. She was still avoiding him. Her phone rang. Her other phone. It could only be him. She glanced at Tony. He kept his poker face on. She stood up and walked away to answer the call. Tony eyes were still on Ziva. She was standing next to the elevator, far enough from him so he won’t be able to listen. Tony’s phone rang too. It was Ducky, asking him to come to sign some papers. He sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was to get down to autopsy. He walked passed Ziva and as he walked inside the elevator, said:   
-”I’ll be down to autopsy in case you care…”   
Ziva was about to retort when the door of the elevator closed. She sighed and cursed him in her mind. Why did he had to be like that. She was doing her best to protect everyone. She was doing the mission as she was told, she was trying to protect Dan and Tony but apparently she was failing on both sides.   
Tony signed Ducky’s papers. The old man was not a fool. He had noticed something was wrong. Tony gave the papers back to Ducky and said:  
-”need anything else Ducky ?”  
-”no I don’t…”   
Tony walked to the door and Ducky added:  
-”but perhaps.. I am not the one here who needs help..”  
Tony turned back and said:  
-”what’s that supposed to mean”   
-”I am sure you are capable to understand simple english.”   
Tony chuckled:  
-”you know that I hate when someone tries to get into my brain”   
-”Then you should let people help you instead”   
-”who said I needed help”   
-”you don’t have to say it. It’s written on your face”  
Tony sighed again. He was trapped. He leant against ducky’s desk and said:   
-”it’s Ziva..”  
-”Tell me something that I don’t already know”   
-“we used to tell eachother everything. I had her back and she had mine but now it’s like she’s locking me out of her life and I don’t know why”  
-”And you are blaming her recent relationship ?”  
Tony chuckled:   
-”yeah .. there is that too..”   
-”can I ask you something ?”  
-”sure..”  
-”do you think she looks happy ? Does she looks like she is pleased by the situation?”   
Tony was starting to understand what Ducky was trying to tell him.   
-”probably not..”   
-”then maybe she’s experiencing the same affliction you do. Maybe she wished she could talk to you. Maybe she could use some support from her friend”  
-”but she does not want to tell me”   
-”You don’t have to know to help. You just have to be there”  
Tony sighed:  
-”and I am putting her through hell instead… thank you Duck’”   
He walked out to the elevator and before leaving he added:  
-”You can send the therapy invoice to my accountant”   
The rest of the evening went smoother. Tony was trying to be more sympathetic. He even stuck up for her when Gibbs barked at her for not getting enough updates on the case. Ziva was surprised that Tony didn’t rub salt into the wound to take advantage of the situation. He was different since he got back from autopsy. 

Tony entered his apartment after a long day. He was exhausted, more mentally than physically. He walked to his fridge. Empty, as usual. He walked to his couch, slumped on it and rested his head. He let a long exhalation escape. Someone knocked on the door. He prayed that it was not his neighbour again. That woman was such a chatterbox. She was always talking about her cat and Tony was not in the mood to talk about Marbles’ health problems right now. He opened the door, ready to fake his best smile and saw Ziva standing on his doorstep. She was holding 2 boxes of pizza and a bottle of wine. Tony smiled and said:  
-”you must have been sent by the gods.. Come inside before the crazy woman next door notices us”   
She had no idea what he was talking about but she was glad he did not send her away. There was an awkward silence. None of them really wanted to be the first one to talk. Tony started:  
-”so…”   
Ziva cleared her throat and said:   
-”I wanted to thank you for standing up for me when Gibbs..”  
-”don’t mention it. You know how he can be sometimes and you know.. This is what people do when they..” he paused. He could not say it. He could not use this word. “When they care about someone. They have each other’s back”   
-”you are right and for that reason you deserve some explanation”   
-”you don’t have to explain me anything if you don’t feel like it…”  
-”but I do”   
-”right.. How about you explain me everything with a slice of pizza and a glass of wine in your hands ?”   
Tony’s stomach was rumbling. He took Ziva jacket off her shoulders and walked to the kitchen to grab two glasses. Ziva was still very tense. She was sitting on the couch but she looked like she was ready to run to the door. 

After eating half of a pizza, Ziva started:   
-”A few weeks ago, Vance assigned me to the surveillance of a man. Renée Benoit. He is an international arms dealer, among other things. We could not find anything. That’s when Vance asked me to get close to his son”  
-”Dan..”  
-”yes” She paused “Vance had been pretty clear: Nobody could know about the mission. Not you, not Gibbs. Nobody. I had to put on a show to justify everything but I can’t lie to everyone anymore. This is too hard. This is not me anymore”   
-”you should have said no”   
Ziva chuckled and stood up from the couch:  
-”It’s that easy, huh ?”  
-”yes, you don’t want to do something, you say no”   
Ziva bitterly answered:  
-”In your world maybe, not in mine”   
Ziva was pacing through Tony’s living room. Tony stood up too and said:   
-”you are no longer working for Mossad, you don’t have to be someone’s puppet anymore”  
Ziva was feeling her anger building up inside. She was feeling betrayed that he was not even trying to understand her. She frowned and said:  
-”I’ve never been anyone’s puppet”  
Tony walked to her and said:   
-”alright then ! Do you have feelings for him ?”   
Ziva was surprised:  
-”What ?”  
-”Did you fall in love with him ? Or did you let someone else decide who you should be with again…”   
He was referring to the ‘Rivkin fiasco’ that happened a few years ago. He had no right to rehash this again. She raised her hand to hit him. She was full of anger, he could see it in her eyes but there was something else. Pain. He grabbed her hand right before she hit him and pushed her back against the wall. She moaned, more out of surprise than out of pain. She was struggling to fight him. She was furious. She punched his shoulder. He took the blows unflinchingly. She said:  
-”you have no right to bring that back !”   
He grabbed her wrists to stop her and said:  
-”Stop it.. Ziva stop !”   
She was out of breath from the struggle. He was blocking her wrists. She could have easily broken free from him but she was tired to fight and most of all, she did not want to fight HIM. How did this apologizing evening turn into a fight so quickly. Their eyes were locked into each other’s. Neither of them were saying a word. They were both very hurt by the situation. They were breathing fast due to the rush of adrenaline. Their faces were really close to each other’s, their lips almost touching until Tony decided that ‘close’ was too far. He closed the gap between her lips and his. The kiss was not tender, it was rough, hard and full of anger. She fought back and bit his lip until she felt the slight metallic taste of blood on her lips. He released her wrists and grabbed her hips to get her closer to him. She was pushing him to get control of the situation but he pushed her back against the wall. He grabbed the hem of the shirt and lifted it above her head. He wished he could take a look at her, now that her shirt was gone, but it would mean leaving her lips and he was not ready to miss that sweet taste. He lifted her legs up and she locked them around his hips. He pressed himself against her and she moaned at the sensation. He decided to move this fight to a more appropriate place. Her legs and arms still wrapped around him, he walked to his bedroom and laid her down on the mattress. It was a single bed, too narrow for them to fit next to each other, but it was not the plan anyway. She would be the first woman to sleep in that bed and probably the only one. 

After getting rid of every piece of clothing, they continued their fight for dominance. Neither of them were willing to let the other one win. He grabbed her wrists and lifted her arms above her head. He blocked her hips with his and she surrendered. He looked at her deeply, his eyes were telling her that he was the one in charge this time. A little smirk appeared on Ziva’s face. He could be the one in charge this time if he wished, she would win the next fight for control. He buried his face on the crook of her neck and alternated between nipping and kissing. This time there was no deadly mossad assassin who could kill him with her hand tied behind her back. No more smartass federal agent. No more rules. Just two bodies in need, expressing their frustration. Two bodies that had been craving for each other for so many years. There were not faking it this time, they were not putting on a show.   
Two hours later. Tony was lying on his back with Ziva’s head on his chest. She was gently stroking his collar bone, still soaked with sweat from their recent love making. He was stroking her hair. He had dreamt about this particular moment for so many years. She had been his, for 2 hours. Two wonderful hours that he wished had never stopped. Having sex was good, but having sex with someone you love was the most amazing sensation in the world. They were both quiet. They knew that things would be even more complicated and painful now. 

The next morning - Tony’s apartment - 7am   
Tony and Ziva were deeply asleep, exhausted by a pretty agitated night. They both wanted to make the most of the few hours they had together. After that, things might not be as they used to be. Ziva was awakened by the muffled sound of her phone vibrating on the wooden floor. It took her a few seconds to figure out where she was and what was that sound. Then she remembered. Dan. They had planned to get a coffee together before going to work. He was probably calling her to check if she was still up for it. She jumped from the bed and cursed:   
-”Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!”  
She was looking through the scattered clothes and finally found her phone. She answered it:   
-”Yes!.. Hi! Yes I am fine.. Panting ? No.. hm.. I just got home from a run.. Yes.. Of course.. I’ll meet you there.. Just let me take a shower and I’ll be there on time… Me too”  
Tony was watching the scene from his bed. He wished he could have grabbed this phone to tell him to go to hell. A few minutes ago, Ziva was lying in his arms, totally calm and relaxed and now she was just a bundle of nerves, stressed and worried. She grabbed her clothes and walked to the bathroom without looking at Tony. She walked out a few minutes later. She finally glanced at him but she rapidly looked down and simply said:   
-”I’m sorry.. I have to go..”   
And just like that, she was out. Before he had the chance to say a word. Before he had the chance to argue or convince her to stay. He was lying in his bed. Alone. Feeling stupid. Knowing that the woman he made love to, several times last night, had just left and he did not say a word to stop her. And those words he heard: ‘me too’. Was she answering to him telling her ‘I love you’ ? Those same words he had been incapable to pronounce. He could have punched himself right now for letting someone else say those words, for being such a coward. She deserved to hear those words from someone else than Dan. Someone who loved her and whom she loved. He sighed. He needed coffee, or a whisky. Maybe both. But drinking at such an early time of the day would be even more depressing. 

Only 30 minutes later, Tony was entering the bullpen. As he walked to his desk, he glanced at Ziva’s desk. She was not there yet. McGee greeted Tony but never got an answer. His mind was navigating between memories from last night and theories about what was going on right now between his coworker and her pretend boyfriend. This idea made him sick. He walked to the men’s room. He leant on the sink and sighed. He was not sure he could take this for a long time. He sprayed some water on his face. He knew he needed to put his head back in the game but the idea of Ziva in other man’s arms was tearing him apart. He was not willing to share her with anyone else but how much longer would she be able to keep Dan away from her bed. He had to stop thinking about this, at least until he gets home. He adjusted his tie and walked back to his desk.

Ziva had been ignoring Tony for most of the day. Tony entered the observatory room. He knew he would find her there, standing straight as an arrow, her arms crossed on her chest, her curly hair tied up in her usual ponytail. Tony thought ‘damn, how can she be so sexy and scary at the same time’. He glanced at the operator in the back of the room. He was focused on his monitors. He placed himself next to her and coldly said:   
-“we need to talk”  
-“about what ?”  
Tony said in an offended way:  
-“about what happened last night.. what else!”  
Ziva chuckled:   
-“Don’t worry Tony, I’m not expecting anything from you. Your bachelor’s life is safe. What happened does not matter”   
She was about to walk to the door when Tony grabbed her arm and stopped her. Ziva looked at his hand. Tony released his grasp on her arm and looked at her deeply. He simply said:   
-“It matters to me”  
Ziva was caught off guard. She had prepared herself for everything but not that. She felt the eyes of the operator on them. She glanced at him and said:   
-”now is not the time”   
And she left the room. Tony scowled at the operator and said:  
-”Don’t you have anything better to do ? Aren’t you aware that stalking people is a criminal offence ?”   
The operator awkwardly focused back on his monitors and Tony focused on the suspect in the room next door. 

The same day - Late at night.   
Tony walked to his desk and glanced at Ziva’s desk. Her coat and bag were gone. Tony asked McGee:  
-”Where is she ?”   
-”hm.. She left 10 minutes ago”  
He grabbed his bag and left too without greeting McGee. He drove to her place. He did not care if Dan was there. He did not care about her mission anymore. All he wanted was to confront her about the night they had spent together. He knocked on her door and waited nervously. She opened the door and looked at him astoundingly. She grabbed him by his collar and pulled him in. She checked the hallway and closed the door. She angrily asked:   
-”What are you doing here ? You can’t come to my place, Dan could have been there”  
-”I don’t care. I told you.. We need to talk”   
She stroked her forehead and said:   
-”Tony… This was a mistake ok.. I was lost, weak and angry. It should not have happened”   
She was trying her best to sound convincing but Tony was not a fool. He said:  
-”Who’s talking ? You or Gibbs ?” He paused “I think what happened last night, happened because we both wanted it and needed it.” Tony walked closer to her. The more he was walking closer, the more she was walking away. Until she felt the wall behind her, blocking her escape. He continued: “Tell me you regret it. Tell me that if it was to happen again you would stop me. Tell me you did not like it. Tell me it did not mean anything”   
His eyes were locked on hers. Having him in her apartment was dangerous for the mission but exciting at the same time. She was trying her best to convince herself that asking him to leave was the best thing to do but the words were not coming out. She kept looking at him deeply when his hands cupped her cheeks. She closed her eyes when his lips touched hers. She completely gave up the fight when he lifted her up and locked her legs around his waist to lead her to her bedroom. 

Ziva’s head was resting on Tony’s chest. She could not find sleep. Tony fell asleep almost immediately after sex. She looked at him for a few minutes. He was looking relaxed. She took his arm off her waist and stood up from the bed. She grabbed some clothes to put on and walked out of the bedroom. She needed to find something to calm her mind. She took her gun from her belt holster and started to clean it. It was the only thing that was relaxing her. The feeling of her hands on cold steel. She was lost. On one hand there was Dan. This relationship was not real but she was starting to have feelings for him. She was not sure if it was real affection or pity about the hell she was putting him into. He was perfect for her. He was nice, handsome and romantic. He had no idea how broken she was on the inside and this was reassuring. But how could she hope to build a lasting relationship with someone on such unstable foundations. On the other hand there was Tony. Tony was Tony. Her class clown. Her best friend, afraid of commitment but unconditionally caring and protective. He knew everything about her. Her fears, her failure, her needs. But she was not sure they were on the same page about this relationship. He was a womanizer and he had never been able to actually settle in a relationship with someone. She was scared that this relationship might only be driven by his jealousy. Maybe he had no real feeling for her and sleeping with her was his way of keeping her close, to be sure that she was not growing apart from him. She was done with relationship doomed to failure. She needed someone who would be able to soothe her mind and heal her invisible wounds. Someone who would take her as the woman she is, no matter how broken she is. She needed something real that would last, on which she would be able to rebuild herself.

Tony woke up in the middle of the night. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was alone in her bed. He fell asleep with a woman next to him and now she was gone. He heard a little noise coming from the living room. He stood up, put his boxer on and walked to the living room. He quietly opened the door and took a second to look at her. She was beautifully enlightened by the street lights. She was sitting at the dining room table, one of her leg tucked against her chest. She was only wearing her panties and his shirt. She was slowly cleaning her gun. Something was on her mind. He walked to her and sat on the chair next to her. He looked at her for a minutes. She was slowly brushing the barrel of her gun until Tony placed his hands on hers. She raised her eyes to look at him. He whispered:   
-”talk to me Ziva”  
His eyes were begging her to let him help her. He continued:  
-”what’s on your mind ?”  
She tried to answer that she was fine but he did not let her finish her sentence:  
-”you are cleaning your gun at 3am… Even though I think this is very sexy, it is not something people usually do when they are fine”   
He knew this was her way to clear her mind. She was troubled and he knew he had something to do with it. She took a minute before answering:  
-”what is this ? What are we doing ?”   
He knew they had to get through this conversation one day but he had hoped this would not happen in the middle of the night. He asked:  
-”what do you want it to be ?”  
-”I’ve had enough deception in my life, enough people coming and going...”  
Tony took her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. He simply smiled and said:   
-”good.. Because I’m not going anywhere and I’m not willing to share you with anyone else”   
She shyly smiled. He took her gun away, stood up and pulled her from the chair. His eyes still locked on hers he lead her back to her bedroom to finish the night with her by his side. 

The next day.  
Ziva received a call from Abby. She wanted to see her and Tony down in her lab.   
Tony entered the elevator with Ziva. The door closed and Tony placed himself right behind her. He was close enough to make her feel his breathe on her neck. She shivered. He smirked. He whispered on her hear:  
-”Am I making you uncomfortable agent David ?”   
She kept her eyes on the doors and whispered:   
-”No.. I was actually wondering if this could be considered as a yellow or red light behavior..”  
Tony chuckled and let his lips brush the line of her neck. Ziva shivered again. He said:   
-”well if you need a catch up on this, I will be very happy to give you a private refresher course tonight about red light behaviors”  
Ziva smiled and bit her lip. The door of the elevator opened. She gave him a butt bump on his groin which made him startle and chuckle. She walked out of the elevator while Tony’s eyes were enjoying the view.   
They both entered Abby’s lab, glancing at each other with teasing eyes. They froze when the scientist barked at them:  
-”You two ! Come here !”  
Abby was obviously very upset. They had no idea why but this was uncommon enough to scare them.   
Tony winced and whispered:  
-”You go first”  
-”me ? why me ? She’s probably mad at you not me. Only you can make someone that angry”   
-”Come on, you can defend yourself. I can’t.. My back hurts..”  
Ziva was about to retort when Abby started to lose patience:  
-”You two should be ashamed of yourself !” Tony and Ziva looked confused at the scientist. Abby was now pacing through her lab. She continued “McGee told me about your little behavior ! You don’t do that ok ! You don’t act like strangers ! You don’t hate each other ! You are Tony and Ziva ! You are two sides of the same coin ! …”  
Tony and Ziva glanced at each other again with a smirk. Ziva tried to stop Abby during her monologue:  
-”Abby…”  
But the young goth was not listening. Ziva stopped her pacing by grabbing her shoulders:  
-”Abby… Tony and I are fine. We had a disagreement but we fixed it”   
Tony stepped closed and said with a smirk:   
-“yes. Mom and dad argue sometimes but they still love each other..”  
Ziva and Abby shared an amused look and both punched Tony’s shoulder. 

Monday morning - Bullpen   
Tony was working at his desk when McGee walked in. He surprisedly said:  
-”What happened to you ? It’s monday and you are here early.. Didn’t think I would see this happening one day”   
Tony winced and said:   
-”Ah! Ah! Very funny McHilarious. Don’t tickle the bear ok..”   
McGee sighed and mumbled:   
-”early bird maybe but still grumpy bird…”  
-”What did you just say ?”  
Ziva entered the bullpen at the same time which probably saved McGee from a very long and annoying argument. Tony frowned at her and focused back on his work. Ziva greeted them but only McGee answered. He knew it was better for his sake if he left the room.  
Tony was ignoring Ziva. She walked to him and leant over his shoulder. She said:   
-”I know you are upset..”  
Tony rolled his eyes. He kept quiet and turned the pages of the file in front of him. Ziva placed her hand on the file to block it. Tony noticed a silver bracelet on her wrist, probably a gift from Dan. Ziva said:   
-”I am sorry ok. I had no idea this was going to happen”   
-”I’ve been waiting for you, ALL NIGHT”   
-”I know I am sorry”   
-”You could have called”   
-”I tried to but he was there all the time. He showed up at my place and took me on a surprised week end to his father’s house on Rhode Island”  
-”oh great, I am so happy to know that you had fun with ‘mister fantastic’ while I was there wondering if something bad happened to you”   
Ziva was surprised. She thought this was only about Tony’s jealousy but it was more that just that. Tony had been worried about her and she felt bad about it.   
-”I am sorry for that too. I’ve been able to discover some secret intel about his father which means that the case is progressing”   
Tony was not very convinced but he said:   
-”I just hope that you are the only one who discovered some secret things this week end..”   
Ziva looked confused. Tony continued:  
-”I hope he did not discovered a particularly well hidden tattoo of yours for example..”   
Ziva rolled her eyes and said:  
-”he did not.. Satisfied..?   
-”Very !” 

Tony and Ziva were out on the field to interrogate a suspect. They entered a rehab facility and walked to the reception desk. A young and beautiful woman greeted them. Tony could not hope for a better opportunity. He put on his most charming smile and said:   
-“Hi! I am very special agent Anthony DiNozzo, this is special agent David”   
The woman was obviously charmed by Tony’s smile. They were stupidly smiling at each other until Ziva rolled her eyes and bitterly started to ask the woman questions. She was obviously very mad and jealous about Tony’s behavior. Exactly the reaction Tony was looking for.   
Ziva was now asking questions to one of the doctors but she could not take her eyes off Tony. He was still at the reception desk, laughing and smiling at the receptionist. He lifted his arm and the woman touched his biceps. Ziva’s heart skipped a beat. She had a furious urge to go for her throat. She thanked the man she was questioning and walked to Tony. She heard the stupid giggles of the receptionist and barked:   
-”TONY!”   
Tony jumped and looked at her with a smirk. She gestured to the door to tell him to follow her. Before leaving Tony turned to the receptionist, gave her his card and said:   
-”This is my card, call me if you remember anything or else..”   
Ziva, who was waiting for him at the door, shouted:   
-”TONY !”  
Tony entered the car and Ziva said:   
-”What was that ?”  
Tony innocently asked:   
-”what was what ? “  
Ziva sighed:  
-”You.. Playing grabass with miss ‘Prom-Queen’ “  
-”You mean Rebecca ?”   
His provocations were getting on Ziva’s nerves even more:  
-”Whatever..”  
Tony smirked and said:   
-”My jealousy detector gets crazy..”  
Ziva chuckled:   
-”Me ? Jealous of that Dumbo ?”   
-”The term is Bimbo.. She took gymnastic lessons in high school. She must be very flexible” Tony said dreamily.  
-”She’s dumb… My description fits her better.. And I can be very flexible too !”   
Tony moved his sunglasses to the tip of his nose and leered at Ziva:   
-”really ?”   
She looked at him with provocative eyes. Tony smirked and started the engine. This was promising. 

A week later⠀  
The poor man tried to dodge her blows but she anticipated every one of his moves. The blows were raining down on his face and stomach. She grabbed his arms and did her best koshi-guruma throw. Her opponent ended up on the ground and she locked her arms around his arms and neck. She kept this position to force him to surrender but he was still struggling. She tightened her grasp on him. She looked around the room. Some people were watching the fight. She looked at them until her eyes landed on a man who was leaning on the ring ropes with a well known smirk on his face. She released her grip on the man and stood up. She helped him get up. The man stroked his throat and said:⠀  
-”Jeez Ziva.. I thought this was just a warm up” ⠀  
Ziva chuckled and said: ⠀  
-”There is no warm up with me” ⠀  
She gave him a gentle tap on the shoulder and walked to Tony. His eyes were lost on her body. Her yoga pants were clinging to every curve of her body and her tank top was giving him a nice glimpse of her abdominal muscles. She was still panting when she asked Tony: ⠀  
-“what are you doing here ?”⠀  
Tony smirked and proudly said: ⠀  
-“I’m taking you out for dinner. I think we should start doing those things that normal people do”⠀  
Ziva leaned on the ring ropes and said: ⠀  
-“since when are we normal people ?”⠀  
Tony turned on his heels and said: ⠀  
-“fine if you don’t want to have dinner with me I’m sure I’ll find someone else” ⠀  
Tony stopped suddenly when something hit his shoulder blade. He turned back and looked down. A pair of kickboxing gloves were waiting at his feet. He grabbed them and looked at Ziva with questioning eyes. She smirked and said: ⠀  
-“If you want to have dinner with me.. you’re gonna have to earn it first” ⠀  
A mischievous grin spread on Tony’s face. He took his jacket off, put the gloves on, climbed on the ring and asked:⠀  
-“you have to promise me something more than just dinner if I win because the challenge is high. So what will I get if I beat your pretty ass ?”⠀  
Ziva chuckled, lifted her wrists and looked at Tony with teasing eyes: ⠀  
-“you’re gonna have to win to find out”⠀

The heavy sound of his body collapsing on the ring’s floor resonated through the entire gym club. He moaned and gasped as she straddled his back, holding his arm behind his back. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear:   
-“not bad for your age”   
This was such a strong punch to his ego that Tony gasped. He struggled to free his hand but every move was adding more pain to his shoulder. Ziva smirked, leaned forward again and whispered:   
-“surrender..”  
Tony moaned:  
-“DiNozzos’ never surrender”  
Tony looked like he was really in pain. Ziva released her grasp on his arm. Hurting him was not her intention. They had some fun but judging by Tony’s face, it was now time to put an end to their fight. Tony grabbed her and pulled her to get her down. He was now straddling her. Ziva gasped. Tony pinned her wrist on the floor above her head and said:   
-“you should know that DiNozzo’s are also very good actors”  
Ziva moved her hips against his crotch and as she felt a little hardness, she asked with teasing eyes:   
-“so even this is only for the show ?”  
Tony smirked and said:   
-“well, this time it’s not just my knee” he paused and said “so what’s my reward for beating the dangerous Ziva David ?”  
Ziva chuckled. She smiled and whispered something in his ear. Something that was so tempting and arousing that for a second Tony was lost in his dream, imagining what this could be like. He stammered:   
-“really ?”  
Ziva smiled and nodded. Tony was daydreaming.  
She took advantage of it and freed one of her hand to throw him over her. He collapsed again on the ground and in less than two seconds she was holding his head in a grasp that only meant one thing: if this was a really fight for survival, Tony would be dead. Everyone around the ring applauded and Ziva victoriously said:   
-“Do you really think that you were winning all this time ?”  
Tony moaned:  
-“I’ll get my revenge”  
Ziva kissed his cheek and put an end to this fight he never really had a chance to win. 

Tony and Ziva walked inside the building and walked to the elevator. They were coming back to Tony’s place after diner. They had been very careful not to be seen together outside. As soon as Tony was sure that nobody could see them he placed himself behind Ziva and started kissing her neck. Ziva chuckled:  
-”someone is impatient”   
-”I’ve been waiting for this all evening, and I’ve fought well for this”   
A large smile spread on Ziva’s face. The elevator dinged and Ziva walked out of the elevator, followed by Tony, still very focused on her neck. They reached Tony’s door and Tony was now pressing his body against Ziva’s. She moaned and said:   
-”keys..”  
He reached for his keys inside his pocket and gave them to Ziva. She unlocked the door when suddenly the door behind them opened. Tony stopped his exploration of Ziva’s neck and they both turned on their heels to face Tony’s neighbor. He awkwardly smiled and said:  
-”Hi Mrs Jefferson”   
She smiled at Tony and scowled at Ziva. They walked inside and as Tony closed the door he said:   
-”I should have told her”   
-”told her what ?”  
-”that she’s about to hear my name being screamed a lot tonight”   
Ziva laughed and said:  
-”You gonna have to do more than bragging if you want to see that happen ‘mon petit pois’”  
Tony smiled and walked closed to Ziva. He bit his lip and said:  
-”less talk and more action. Why are you still dressed ?”   
Ziva raised an eyebrow and said:   
-”Because you are not doing your job”   
Tony smirked and lifted her to hold her in his arms. Ziva burst out laughing as he lead her to his bedroom

The next morning  
Tony and Ziva walked out from Tony’s apartment. Tony’s neighbor walked out of her apartment. Tony used his most charming smile and said:   
-”Morning Miss Jefferson”   
She smiled and answered:  
-”Morning Tony..”  
She looked at Ziva with judging eyes as they both walked down the hallway. Ziva laughed and said:   
-”I think your neighbor hates me..”   
-”I think she does not really appreciate being awaken in the middle of the night by the beautiful sound of your voice Sweetcheeks…”   
-”and whose fault is that ?”   
For only answer, Tony put on his Ray Ban and winked at her, with a confident and proud grin


	3. Chapter 3

A week later⠀  
Ziva had been gathering a lot of intel on Dan’s father. A few days ago, she had met him in person during a dinner in a fancy restaurant. She used an app on her phone to connect to Renée Benoit’s phone through wifi and downloaded all the information on it. Texts, contacts, locations. Everything. This had been significant progress.⠀  
⠀  
Ziva was going home on a Wednesday night when she noticed a car on her rear-view mirror. That same car had been following her since she left Dan’s place. She sped up and randomly changed directions. She dialed Tony’s number just in case. No answer. It was late he was probably already asleep. She checked her rear view mirror again. Gone. She mocked herself for being paranoid. She drove through the crossroad and was then blinded by the full headlights of a car, coming right in front of her. She only had time to turn the steering wheel to avoid a frontal crash and ended up crashing into a parked car. She passed out for a few seconds when her airbag inflated. She winced and moaned. She was stunned. Some blood started to run down her temple. She looked for her gun or at least her phone on the passenger seat but both of them must have fallen down during the crash. Someone opened her door and took her out of the car. She punched and hit her attacker with as much force as she could, until she faced the barrel of a handgun. She had to surrender. She was outgunned and still stunned. She released her grasp on the man and was struck behind the head with the gunstock. Before she passed out again she felt something stinging her on the side of her neck. And then nothing. ⠀

When she opened her eyes again, she was dragged from the car to the inside of a house. A man barked:  
-”take her downstairs”  
A minute later she was thrown to the ground. As her face crashed on the ground, she coughed, groaned and passed out again. When she regained consciousness she felt her brain throbbing. She opened her eyes and the few rays of lights that enlightened the room were enough to blind her. She struggled to keep her eyes opened and looked around. She was in a basement, her hands tied behind her back. Too tightly. She could feel the pain in her bloodless wrists spreading to her forearms. She gathered all her strength to move back into a sitting position. She loudly moaned when the pain in her shoulder awakened. She could still feel the sticky feeling of blood on her nose and forehead. She looked around her and looked for any way out. There was nothing she could use to free herself. She didn’t know how long she had been there but she hoped that she had been missing long enough for someone to notice it. A door opened upstairs and Ziva heard the heavy sound of footsteps on the wooden stairs. She focused her mind. She knew that from now on, things were about to get even more painful. 3 men appeared. 2 of them grabbed her arms to restrain her. Ziva moaned as the pain in her shoulder was amplified by their roughness. A fourth man appeared and Ziva recognized him immediately, Dan’s father.   
Renée Benoit took a cigar out and cut the cap. He noticed her bleeding nose and said:  
-”my deepest apologies for my men’s manners”  
Ziva looked at him with fierce eyes, ready to jump at his throat if she gets the opportunity. The man bent over her and asked:  
-“who are you ?”

He already knew she was not who she once pretended to be. Her entire past was erased before she was officially assigned to this mission. If Renée Benoit was checking her identity: he would only find the boring life of a young woman working in the human resources department of the Navy Yard. Ziva kept her mouth shut. Renée nodded to one of his henchmen and a strong punch struck Ziva’s face. She moaned and tumbled. She returned to her previous position without flinching but with a defiant look. Renée began to pace through the room and continued: ⠀  
-“who are you working for ? Russians ? Mexicans ? Turkish ?” ⠀  
Ziva chuckled. This earned her another strong punch. He looked at her necklace. He touched it and said:⠀  
-”Jewish, huh ?” ⠀  
Ziva’s body tensed. Touching this necklace was an insult to her sister. She would have broke his fingers one by one if she could have. He pulled on the little golden chain and broke it. Ziva instantly tried to jump on her feet to take it back but she was stopped by 2 men who violently hit her on the back and held her on the ground. She moaned and struggled, begging: ”Give it to me!”⠀  
The man chuckled:⠀  
-”Finally ! Our guest has recovered her voice. If you don’t want to tell us who you’re working for.. maybe he will.. and I really hope for his physical integrity that he will be more talkative than you” ⠀  
He showed a picture of Tony and Ziva. That picture was taken a few days earlier through Tony’s living room window. They were both very busy exploring each other’s body, Ziva was sitting on Tony’s lap while they were kissing. For a second Ziva felt ashamed that they could have been so careless to let this happen. She tensed and barked:⠀  
-“leave him out of this ! He has nothing to do with that”⠀  
He bent over Ziva with her Star of David hanging from his fingers and continued:⠀  
-”If you don’t mind, I’m gonna keep this as a souvenir” He turned to his men and ordered: “I want to know who she’s working for. After that.. Do whatever you want with her, but make sure she dies at the end. Don’t try to contact me until this is done” ⠀

On the other side of D.C - 3am  
Tony could not sleep. He had a strange feeling and he was missing her. His room was filled with her scent. He was surprised by his need to sleep against her pillow, to be surrounded by her scent, to feel like she was there. Tony had surprised her one night with a brand new double bed. It was his way of reassuring her. Telling her that he wanted this to last, that she was more than just a friend with benefits, without having to say those 3 words that were still so difficult for him to pronounce. The last time they had talked, they had been arguing about Dan again. Tony was feeling like Dan was taking too much space in her life.   
He stood up and walked to his kitchen. His eyes stopped on his piano. He smirked in remembrance of the scene that occurred a few days ago on that same piano stool. Ziva, half naked on the piano stool, straddling him, kissing his neck and stroking his hair as he played some jazz music. This had been a night of pure abandon. Her body fitting perfectly with his. No more fake identity, no more fake boyfriend, no more pretending, just two bodies, expressing their needs to be one with the other. Tony rapidly cleared his mind otherwise he would need a cold shower to calm him. He drank a glass of fresh water and walked back to his bed. His attention was dragged by his phone. A little light was flashing out on it. A missed call. Ziva tried to call him 4 hours ago. She probably wanted to apologize. He thought about calling her but it was too late for that kind of conversation and even though he was missing her so much, he was still a bit mad at her anyway. He laid back in his bed, still tormented by his need for her. 

Ziva was exhausted. Her concussion from the car crash was blurring her view and slowing her reflexes. She had been beaten for the last 2 hours by Renée’s men until one of them made the big mistake of underestimating her. Mistakes were not an option when you were fighting Ziva David. ⠀  
She had been fiercely fighting them for over 20 minutes. Punching and kicking them with as much force as she had left. She ran for the stairs. One of the men grabbed her legs and making her fall back down the stairs. She felt her chest explode, it was on fire. She felt the metallic taste of blood in her mouth. When the man grabbed her hair to punch her, she countered him instinctively, as if her body was on auto-pilot. Her survival instincts were taking the lead. She threw a series of strong punches with the little strength she had left and ran upstairs. She needed a weapon. Anything to have an advantage. She staggered to the kitchen and looked for a knife or anything deadly enough to stop them. She found it but a man jumped on her and violently pushed her against the countertop. He smashed her face against it and threw her on the ground. They were both out of strength. He straddled her and started to strangle her. Ziva was suffocating. Her last chance was to get the knife back. It was a few inches away from her hand. She tried to grab it. Her fingertips touched the cold steel of the blade. Only a few inches and she would be able to take it. She was gasping for air. She wouldn’t be able to endure one more minute of this. In one last effort she grabbed the knife and planted it on the man’s side. He moaned and heavily collapsed on the floor next to her. She heard the last survivor of the three henchmen walking toward the kitchen. She couldn't take this anymore. She was too wounded and out of strength to fight him. He rushed inside the room, pointed his gun at Ziva and was immediately struck by the blade of a knife thrown directly at his heart. He collapsed on the ground. It was finally over. All she wanted to do was run, scream and cry but it was too much for her. She collapsed on the floor and passed out. A small pool of blood appeared under her head. ⠀

5am - Streets of D.C  
Tony was in his car, still in the process of awakening. He had been awaken 30 minutes ago by a call from his boss, telling him to come to a crime scene in the middle of D.C. He parked his car and walked to the crime scene. He still had that strange feeling on the back of his mind. He froze instantly as he saw a shiny red Mini surrounded by cops and crime scene tape. No, this could not be hers. He looked around and saw McGee and Gibbs. Where was she ? McGee raised his eyes to him and from his look, Tony knew it was her. Tony walked to Gibbs and asked:  
-”What happened Boss ?”  
Gibbs was staring at the car. As McGee saw that his boss was not reacting he answered for him:  
-”Metro P.D found the car a few hours ago. Her gun and her phones are still inside. We found blood. I called all the hospital and none of them got a woman admitted that matches Ziva’s description”  
Tony walked to the driver seat and knelt. His body shivered as he saw the blood on the airbag. McGee walked to him and asked:   
-”You are the last person she called last night, around 3am. Did she say anything ? Did she sound nervous ? ”  
Tony’s jaw clenched. She called him last night. She needed him and he did not answered her call. Maybe he could have done something. Maybe he could have saved her. Tony said:  
-”I don’t know… I missed her call. Thanks for reminding me McGee”   
McGee was trying to apologize but Tony’s mind was focused on something else. Vance was walking toward them. Tony was furious. This was all his fault if Ziva was now missing. This has to be related to her assignment, otherwise Vance would not bother coming to the crime scene. Gibbs and Vance talked for long minutes under Tony’s glowering eyes. McGee asked:  
-”Are you ok Tony ?”  
This dragged Tony out from his murdering thoughts and he said:   
-”What ? Yes I am fine McGee..”  
-”I’m sure she’s ok. We’re going to find her”  
Tony sighed:  
-”If you say so..”   
And he walked away. He was not in the mood to hear those banalities. He needed to be alone. He needed to find her. 

Tony had been very quiet. He was taking pictures of the scene. His jaw was clenched. His mind froze when his eyes landed on the traces of blood on the airbag. Ziva’s blood. This thought sent shivers down his spine. He was the first she called. He was the one she trusted the most to save her life and he let her down. His mind was going through every kind of theories. How bad was she hurt ? Why abducting her ? Were they torturing her ?   
Vance said:   
-“I’m sure Agent David is fine”   
Vance was trying to sound reassuring but Tony could not hold it. He sneered. Everyone’s eyes turned to Tony. Vance asked:   
-“Something funny Agent DiNozzo ?”  
The look that Tony threw to Vance, could not be mistaken with something else than resentment and anger. He clicked his tongue and said:   
-“We both know what happened to Ziva and we both know that she’s not fine..”  
Vance’s look crossed Gibbs and McGee’s confused look. Vance simply asked:  
-“May I have a word with you in private Agent DiNozzo ?”  
Tony swallowed hard and clenched his jaw even more. He was worried because the woman he loved was missing and probably injured and he was blaming Vance for that so talking right now was probably not a clever idea if we wished to keep his job. He started to follow him when Gibbs barked:   
-“If you have something to say that is related to Ziva, now is the time to speak.. Director”   
He threw this last word with bitterness. Vance was trapped. Everyone was looking at him, waiting for an explanation. He cleared his throat and said:   
-“this might be related to a mission Agent David was assigned to..”  
Tony cut him off:  
-“we have to question Renée Benoit !”  
-“we can’t do that and you know it ! We don’t have any proofs ! Agent David has a lot of enemies ! And she wouldn’t want us to ruin all her work on suspicions !”  
Tony walked to Vance and bitterly said:  
-“Agent David would want us to save her !” 

Inside the observatory room.   
Tony was nervous. He was looking at the man on the other side of the glass. He was looking confident with his trench coat and his hat. She would have been there, next to him. They would have laughed and bet on how long it would take for Gibbs to make him confess. But she was not there and that man knew exactly where she was. Gibbs walked in and started questioning Renée.   
-“where is Ziva David ?”  
-“Who ?”  
Gibbs took a picture of Ziva and placed it on the table. Renée sneered and said:   
-“oh you mean Gina ? I haven’t seen her in a while. I hope she’s fine”  
His mocking smile was too much for Tony. He rushed inside the interrogation room, grabbed Renée by his collar and pushed him against the wall:   
-“WHERE IS SHE !”   
Gibbs rushed to Tony to stop him from hitting their suspect. Gibbs pulled Tony out from the room and Tony yelled:  
-“HE KNOWS WHERE SHE IS !”   
Gibbs yelled too:   
-“YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT ?”  
-“I’M GONNA KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH GIBBS”  
-“go home Tony. Take a shower, eat something, I don’t care, but get out of here !”   
Tony leant his back on the wall behind him, as if his legs were too weak to support him and said:   
-“I can’t boss ! Not until I know she’s safe”  
-“you are not helping her here !”  
Tony eyes were full of rage and fear. He swallowed hard and said:   
-”She called me Gibbs.. She called me for help and I did not answer”   
Gibbs sighed and calmly said:  
-”This is not your fault, DiNozzo. Even if you had taken her call, you would not have been able to stop them”   
-”no but we wouldn’t have wasted so much time”  
Gibbs said firmly:  
-”I don’t want you here, Tony”

An hour later Tony was still at his desk when Renée Benoit and his lawyer walked to the elevator. Tony’s eyes were locked on him. Tony was fighting the urge to punch that smirk right out of his face. The old man was showing off with his mocking smile and his head high, knowing exactly where Ziva was held captive. This was an affront. As Gibbs walked in, Tony rushed to him and barked:   
-“Why are you letting him go ?”  
Gibbs calmly but firmly said:  
-“McGee is tracking him down. We have his phone and car under surveillance. He’s gonna lead us to Ziva” 

Later that day  
Dan walked inside the interrogation room, escorted by an NCIS agent. Tony looked at him through the window of the observatory room. Dan was totally confused. Gibbs walked in and asked him to sit. Dan asked:   
-“what am I doing here ?”  
Gibbs sat on the chair and opened a file. He placed a picture of Ziva in front of Dan and asked:   
-“Do you know her ?”  
Dan took the picture and said:   
-“yes of course, it’s Gina. My girlfriend”  
-“This is special agent Ziva David. She’s working for me”   
-“what ? No that’s impossible, she’s working at Human Resources. Her name is Gina.   
-“She’s been assigned to get some information on your father and now she’s missing. We think that your father might be involved. Do you have any idea where he could have taken her”   
That was too many information for Dan. He jumped from the chair and started to pace through the room:  
-“why would my father abduct my girlfriend ? This makes no sense”   
Gibbs coldly said:   
-“sit !”  
Dan sat back and Gibbs showed some pictures taken by Ziva.   
-“your father is not just the man he pretends to be. We have reasons to think that your father is an arms dealer. Your father does not have any house here in D.C. Do you have any idea where he could have taken her ?”   
Dan was shocked. He withdrew into silence to proceed the information. After long minutes he finally mumbled:   
-“there’s a house outside from D.C.. it’s the house of one of his friend. That’s where he goes when he comes to D.C.”   
Before Gibbs walked out from the room, Dan said:   
-”You are wrong. There is something more between me and her. We love each other” 

Gibbs thanked Dan for his cooperation and walked to the bullpen with Tony. As they were ready to go check the house, Vance walked in and said:   
-”You can’t go over there without a warrant”   
Gibbs sighed. His boss still hasn’t understand that there was no laws he would not break to save one of his agents, especially Ziva. He walked to him and handed his badge and gun to his director. Tony and McGee froze. Vance looked at Gibbs with confused eyes. Gibbs calmly said:  
-”You can take these or fire me. I don’t care. I’m going to that house with a warrant or not”   
Vance took Gibbs’ gun and badge and looked at McGee and DiNozzo. They had clearly stopped breathing when Gibbs took his badge out. Vance smirked, looked back at Gibbs and said:  
-”and how do you plan on rescuing agent David without your gun ?”   
Vance gave his badge and gun back to Gibbs. Gibbs smirked and nodded at his agent to tell them to proceed. They rushed to the elevator and when the door closed Tony worriedly said:  
-”you knew he would not accept your demission right ?”  
For only answer Gibbs smirked again. 

Gibbs parked the car a few street away from the mansion to be sure that nobody would notice them. This visit had to remain secret as long as they had no real reasons to be there. They found themselves in front of a giant metal fence. Tony asked:  
-”what do we do now boss ?”   
Gibbs looked at him and said:  
-”You took climbing lessons right DiNozzo ?”  
Tony winced and walked to the fence. 

20 minutes later, Gibbs was waiting for his agent to cross the fence. DiNozzo was up on the fence with McGee holding him. Tony was trying to keep in voice low while he was telling McGee off:  
-”Higher ! Higher ! On the left ! NO not that much ! Hold on … wait …wait.. Waiii..”   
This was followed by the thud of Tony’s body falling over the fence and crashing down on the ground. Tony moaned and stood up with his hand on his back:  
-”I’ve said WAIT !”   
McGee apologized and Gibbs asked Tony to go open the little gate to let them in. 

The three agents walked closer to the house, making sure to remain undetected. The lights are on but the house was quiet. No mouvements inside. By a quick gesture of the hand, Gibbs asked his agents to clear each side of the house. Tony took a quick glance inside the living room. Empty. He walked to the back of the house and glanced at the kitchen. Nothing. Until he noticed something. A foot on the floor. Someone was laid down on the floor behind the counter. Then his eyes laid on a blood trace on the countertop that he had not noticed before. Something was going on. He took his gun out and rushed back to Gibbs. When Gibbs saw Tony coming back with his gun out he took his own gun and Tony said:   
-”man down and blood on the kitchen”   
McGee walked back and asked:   
-”what’s wrong ?”  
Gibbs simply said:   
-”Call an ambulance. We’re going in”   
He nodded at Tony to tell him to break the door open. He threw his foot and the door swung open in a loud slam. They rushed inside and cleared the rooms one by one. Tony called:   
-”ZIVA !”   
Nobody answered. Tony reached the kitchen and discovered the bodies of two mens on the ground. And that’s when he saw her. Hidden behind the counter, covered with wounds and blood. He yelled:   
-“I’VE FOUND HER ! ZIVA !”  
And knelt next to her, praying that she was still alive. He took her in his arms, grabbed her hand and said:  
-”come on Ziva. You’re gonna be ok, we’re gonna get you outta here. Come on, stay with me”   
For only answer she tightened her grip on his hand. Gibbs and McGee entered the kitchen and discovered Tony, knelt next to Ziva’s body. They could not see her face. It was as if Tony was protecting her, with his body wrapped around hers. Gibbs asked:   
-”How is she ?”  
Tony answered:   
-”I don’t know”   
He lifted her up in his arms and as he wrapped her arms around his neck he felt her tighten her grasp on his neck with the last bit of strength she had left, as if she was begging him to never let go of her.   
Tony whispered:   
-”I’m gonna get you out of here”   
And he took her out from the kitchen. 

He took her to the living room and laid her down on the couch. She was still shivering. He took his coat off and wrapped her in. It was a pretty expensive coat and it was already stained with blood, but he did not cared about those futile things right now. He could see by the look on her face that she was fighting pain. Gibbs walked inside the living room, followed by McGee. They were quietly and worriedly looking at Tony and Ziva. Tony bitterly asked McGee without taking his eyes off Ziva:  
-”Where’s that damn ambulance ?”  
McGee stammered:   
-”it’s on its way Tony”  
Tony cupped Ziva’s cheek and noticed something. He said:  
-”her necklace… Where’s her necklace..”  
McGee confusedly asked:   
-”What ?”   
Tony was looking obsessed by her missing necklace, as if finding it would save her life. He continued:   
-”Her necklace.. It’s not there. McGee, search the place and find it”   
McGee was confused. His friend was probably dying and Tony was asking him to try to find a stupid necklace. McGee argued:   
-”Tony, we will find it later…”   
Tony angrily shouted:  
-”FIND IT NOW MCGEE!”  
Gibbs intervene to calm him:  
-”HEY!”   
Gibbs and Tony looked at each other. Through his eyes, Gibbs was trying to ask Tony to calm down. Gibbs turned to McGee and calmly said:   
-”Go look for it McGee”  
Tony focused back on Ziva and whispered:  
-“come on Ziva! You can’t leave me now! Not you! Not now! There’s so many things I have to tell you, things that I’ve never been able to say to anyone else. I…..”   
Tony was stopped by the sirens of the ambulance and McGee who rushed in saying:  
-“the ambulance is here” 

He had been waiting for hours in this cold room. Hours wondering if he will see her again. Hours wondering if he had lost the woman he loved without telling her those three words. ‘I love you’. what was so difficult about that ? His fear to be abandoned again was so paralyzing that he never had the courage to tell her how he felt and now she was dying and he would never get another chance to tell her. He was staring at the corridor when he saw Dan walking in. He jumped from his chair and bitterly asked McGee:   
-”What is he doing here ?”   
McGee stammered:   
-I don’t know”   
Dan walked inside the waiting room. His eyes crossed Tony’s eyes and he recognized him instantly. He asked Gibbs:   
-”How is she ?”  
Letting him be the worried boyfriend was upsetting Tony. Gibbs answered:  
-”We don’t know yet”  
A few minutes later a nurse came in. She called:   
-”Miss David’s family” She pronounced it ‘Dayvid’ which made everyone correct her:  
-”It’s David !”   
Dan walked to the nurse, who said:   
-”She will be fine but she does not remember anything. She has been very lucky. Unfortunately we were not able to save the baby”   
Tony’s heart skipped a beat. Dan’s face fell and he said:   
-”What ? No that’s impossible, there got to be a mistake, she can’t be pregnant”  
The nurse looked confused:   
-”Miss David was 6 weeks pregnant. I’m sorry”  
Gibbs looked at Tony face. Tony’s eyes were lost in the void. Gibbs didn’t need further explication. He knew. The nurse walked out and Dan turned to them. His eyes locked on Tony and he said:   
-”You !”   
He rushed to him and punched him with so much strength that Tony moaned and stumbled. Dan barked:   
-“I should have known”  
Tony was holding his bleeding nose, he was about to get his own back on Dan but Gibbs stopped them and barked at McGee:  
-”Get him out !” 

Tony was shocked, just like everyone else. He collapsed on a chair on the back of the room. Gibbs walked to him and sat. He stayed quiet for long minutes. Tony was holding a tissue to his bleeding nose. He was experiencing the most painful feeling he had ever felt in his entire life. Next to that, losing his fiancé Wendy or being shot was a piece of cake. Gibbs finally said:   
-“I’m sorry kid”   
He placed his hand on Tony’s knee. Tony was surprised by such an affectionate gesture from his boss. He said:  
-”I didn’t know she was pregnant, if I knew I would have stopped her”   
Gibbs didn’t say a word. Tony continued:   
-“I know we shouldn’t have. I know you’ve told us that fraternizing in the workplace is never a good idea but trust me, we didn’t see that coming either”  
Gibbs smiled and said:   
-“I knew from the beginning that making you work together was like juggling with a live grenade, I just didn’t know when it was going to explode”  
Tony chuckled and said:   
-“what am I supposed to do Gibbs ?”  
Gibbs sighed and took a second to think. He finally said:   
-“She’s gonna need you. Be there for her, no matter how, even when she’s rejecting you. You have to be strong for both of you. You have to support her and for that, you have to forgive yourself first”   
Tony chuckled again and said:   
-”easy to say.. Forgiving myself is not something I am very good at. We have to get him boss”   
Gibbs stood up and said:   
-”We will. But that’s tomorrow’s concern”


	4. Chapter 4

Tony had been sitting on that same chair for the last 4 hours. His back was hurting, he was tired, angry and sad but most of all he was worried. This phrase was resonating in his mind, actually only two words: “the baby”. Ziva had been pregnant and judging by Dan’s reaction, only Tony could be the father. Did she know about it ? Was she struggling about how to tell him ? Was she happy about it ? All these questions to which Tony needed some answers.   
Another man had been waiting in the same corridor for the last 4 hours. He sat next to Tony and handed him a cup of coffee. Tony looked at it with confused eyes. The man started:   
-“Coffee. You seem to need it as much as I do. What happened to your face ?”  
Tony grabbed the coffee and said:  
-”It’s complicated”  
The man continued:   
-“I’m Scott. What are you here for ? Wife ? Kid ? Mother ?”   
Tony took a sip and chuckled. He had no idea how he should call her. They had never put a name on it but yet she had been pregnant with his child. He took a deep breath and said:   
-“it’s complicated”   
-“hmm… I see, mistress ?”   
Tony chuckled again and said:   
-“let’s say.. girlfriend”   
Girlfriend felt like an understatement and a very huge step forward for him at the same time. -“what’s her name ?”  
A sparkle enlightened his eyes and a little smile appeared on his mouth when he pronounced her name:   
-“Ziva”   
-“Ziva ? Where’s that from ?”  
-“Israel”   
-“wow..dude…you like to live dangerously. I had a jewish girlfriend once. You better be careful not to get her angry”   
Tony chuckled:   
-“You have no idea”   
-“what happened ?”  
Tony wasn't sure he wanted to talk about it but at least the idea that this man didn’t know the whole picture was reassuring. He cleared his throat and said:   
-“car accident. They said she was 6 weeks pregnant”   
-“man.. I’m sorry.. that sucks. I hope she’ll be fine”  
Tony thanked him before introducing himself.   
They talked for another 20 minutes, until the nurse in charge of checking Ziva’s vital signs appeared around the corner. Tony apologized to Scott and rushed to the nurse. 

Tony asked:   
-”Is everything ok ?”   
A shy smile, full of empathy, appeared on the nurse’s face. She said:   
-”The doctor says she’ll be ok. Despite all her wounds and her dislocated shoulder, she has a big concussion and a small intracerebral hemorrhage but we monitored it and the bleeding is already resorbing by itself. She does not remember anything from after the crash but this might only be temporary. She probably won’t have any long term sequelae. She has been very agitated, we had to sedate her”.  
-”Can I see her ?”   
-”not now, she’s too weak. She needs to rest”   
Tony begged:  
-”Please, I just want to see her. Just for a minute. There’s something important I have to tell her”   
The nurse was trying to choose the right words:   
-”Sir.. She does not want to see anyone”   
Tony thanked the nurse and she disappeared inside Ziva’s room. Tony sit back and let his head fall back on the wall behind him. She didn’t want to see him. She was hurt and wounded and she wanted to deal with her pain all by herself. She probably didn’t wanted him to see her like that, wounded, weak and confused. He knew he should have persuaded her to stop that mission. He knew he should have talked to Vance to stop this. And his mind suddenly wondered what could have happened if he had stopped her. She would still be pregnant, he would have had to face his responsibilities and this idea was surprisingly not scaring him. He wanted to get inside that room to tell her those three words that might have changed everything. Those three words that she deserved so much. Those three words that she had so rarely heard, if not never heard. Tony was lost in his thoughts when he suddenly heard a shriek coming from inside the room and the sound of broken glass shattered on the floor. 

Tony took his gun out and rushed to the door. As he walked inside the room he saw Ziva holding the nurse against the wall with a piece of broken glass in her hand. Some blood was dripping from the palm of her hand. The nurse was crying and her forehead was bleeding. Ziva was obviously still very confused. She had been struggling for so many hours, that being touched had taken her back inside that basement. Tony calmly said:   
-”Ziva, it’s ok. Look at me. It’s me Tony”   
And just by hearing his voice, her mind snapped. She looked at the scared nurse and let the piece of glass fall down. She released her grasp on the nurse who rushed out and let herself fall down against the wall. Tony put his gun away and walked carefully to her. He sat next to her and pulled her closer. She was still shaking:  
-”It’s ok. You’re alright. It’s over”   
They stayed like this for long minutes, sitting on the floor without talking, until a strong pain struck Ziva down her abdomen. She could not refrain a little groan and put her hand on her lower abdomen to try to soothe the pain. Tony didn’t know what to do. He placed his own hand on her lower abdomen. Ziva eyes rose to meet Tony’s eyes and she realized that he knew. They looked at each other for long minutes, until Tony broke the silence by saying:   
-”I’m so sorry Ziva.”   
She did not answer and rest her head on his shoulder. His hand was still resting on her lower abdomen. He hoped that in some way it could help soothe her pain. His other hand was in her hair and he realized how much he had missed the sensation of his fingers, entwined in her hair.   
After 20 minutes, the sedative had put Ziva back to sleep. Tony carefully took her in his arms and lifted her from the floor. She groans and he laid her back on her bed. He stroked her forehead with his thumb before landing a kiss on it. He sat on the chair next to her and took her hand in his.

*click*  
That sound took Tony out of his sleep. He opened his eyes and met the friendly face of Ducky. He blinked and tried to accustom his eyes to the sudden amount of lights. Ziva was sitting on her bed with her shirt lifted on her back. She was turning his back on them so that Ducky could take some pictures of her wounded back for the case. A very light and almost unnoticeable smirk appeared on her face when she glanced at Tony, with his messed hair and his half awakened face.   
Tony stood up and tried his best to put on a brave face. He cleared his throat and said:  
-”You should have woke me up”   
Ducky said:   
-”It’s alright, I’m almost done”   
Tony’s eyes stopped on Ziva’s wounds. There were so many bruises on her back that it was almost impossible to see her olive skin color. Tony winced as he heard her groan when she put her shoulder splint back on. She was struggling to adjust it so Tony offered his help. Ducky greeted them and left the room. Tony was fastening the sling when Ziva asked:   
-”What happened to your face ?”   
Tony tried to dodge the subject. He knew the answer would probably bring anxiety to her. He said:   
-”I slipped on the shower”   
Ziva knew him so well that she could have probably guessed his answer. She frowned. Tony said:   
-”Dan happened”   
Tony felt her muscles tense up. Ziva swallowed hard and said:  
-”Does he know about everything ?”  
-”Well if your question is ‘does he know that you are not the holy virgin’ then yes”   
Ziva sighed:  
-”It’s not funny Tony” ⠀  
-”Oh trust me I’m not trying to be funny here. We need to talk about it” ⠀  
-“Talk about what ? It’s gone, you should be happy about it !” ⠀  
Ziva was referring to Tony’s fear of children. His jaw clenched. Being hurt was making her say things that she did not really meant. Tony was obviously hurt by her words:   
-“you think I could be happy that you had a miscarriage ?” ⠀  
They looked at each other for seconds that seemed to last for hours. Tony was waiting for her to deny but no words were getting out. He looked angrily at her and said before walking out:  
-”well ! maybe you don’t know me that much after all” 

2 hours later  
Gibbs knocked on Ziva’s door. She invited him to come in. He looked surprised not to find Tony sitting on the armchair. He asked:   
-“where’s DiNozzo ?”  
Ziva took several seconds before answering. She was obviously still troubled by their last conversation. She turned her back on Gibbs to hide her current state of mind and said:   
-“He is gone”  
Gibbs raised an eyebrow. Ziva knew he needed more than that answer. He knew that Tony would never leave her bedside if he did not had a good reason. She stroked her forehead and continued:  
-“we had an argument and I’ve said things.. things I should not have said.. things I didn’t mean”   
She sat on her bed and Gibbs joined her. He grabbed her hand and stroke his thumb on it. They stayed like this for a minute until Gibbs said:   
-“He’s hurt.. maybe not as much as you are but.. this all thing.. it’s gonna leave marks on both of you. That pain that you feel...this…loss, he’s experiencing the same and he is alone with that pain.. just like you. You are both alone with that pain when you should be fighting it together, having each other’s back. You are a team. work as a team !”   
Ziva felt as if she had received an electroshock. This last sentence was like their motto. She had been ignoring his pain. He had been trying to help her while trying to soothe his own pain and she had completely denied him the right to be comforted.  
Gibbs continued:   
-“you should take your time. You should talk.. to whom, that’s your decision to make but there’s someone out there that needs someone to talk to”   
Gibbs saw Ziva’s eyes getting blurred by tears. He pulled her to him and hugged her. Right now she was not his agent anymore, their father/daughter relationship was supplanting their working relationship. This event was affecting everyone and he had to be the family leader, the one that does not flinch and who stays strong for everyone.   
A few tears escaped Ziva’s eyes. 

He hated her.   
He hated her for pushing him away everytime she was hurt. He hated her for thinking that at the end he would not have been happy about her pregnancy. He hated her for being so essential to his life. He hated her for stepping into his life and rocking his world.   
He was leaning on the counter of the bar, an empty glass of whisky in front of him. He gestured to the bartender to pour another glass of that comforting liquor. He looked at a bunch of girls playing pool on the corner of the room. They have been looking at him for over an hour. This would be easy to just pick the most good looking girl and ask her to finish the night with him. Maybe she would be able to soothe his pain for a couple of hours But he was sad, tired and far from being interested. He knew that even if he tried, the only face he would be able to see would be Ziva’s face and he would probably end up saying her name on the crucial moment of release which would be very awkward for both of them. He winced as he felt the throbbing pain in his hand. He looked at the bandage that was wrapped around it and saw little spots of blood getting through the fabric. He sighed. Maybe drinking alcohol was not a clever idea after all. He cursed himself as he remembered:   
After his argument with Ziva, he had driven home and sprayed some water on his face in the bathroom. When his eyes had met his reflection on the mirror he had punched it with so much rage that a piece of glass had cut the top of his hand, leaving a pretty deep slash on the top of it.   
It was time for him to get some sleep. He left a couple of bill on the counter and walked his way back home.   
He struggled with his keys and his bandaged hand. After dropping them twice the door was suddenly unlocked from the inside and opened. His confused eyes raised from the keys on the floor to the very attractive legs of the Israeli woman standing in front of him and finally stopped on her face. The only thing he was able to articulate was:   
-”What are you doing here ?” 

Ziva let him get inside his own apartment. Tony dropped his keys on the small table next to the door and said:   
-”I don’t remember giving you a key”  
Tony struggled to get his jacket off but Ziva helped him to get rid of it and said:   
-”Since when do I need a key to get inside a place ?”  
Tony was now standing a few feet away from her. He raised an eyebrow and asked:  
-”So you broke into my apartment because... ?”  
-”because I owe you an apology”   
She took a long pause. Tony leaned forward to prick up his ears. As she was not saying anything he stroked his ears and said:   
-”oh I’m sorry, did you just say anything because I think I missed it”   
Ziva’s eyes narrowed. Tony was obviously trying to trigger her. She took a deep breath and started:  
-“look.. I should not have said those things to you. The pain, both physical and psychological made me say things that I did not mean. I hope you know that. I should not have said that you did not care about… this” putting her miscarriage into words was still a challenge for her.  
Tony’s jaw was clenched. He was happy that she was apologizing to him but there was still something on the back of his mind that was disturbing him. He simply asked:   
-”did you know ?”  
Ziva shamefully answered:   
-“yes..”  
Tony tried to hide that he was hurt by her answer. She knew she was pregnant and she kept that information from him. He took a step away from her and asked coldly:   
-“why didn’t you tell me ?”   
-“I was going to”   
Tony let a sneer escape. He did not believe her. He was avoiding her face, too hurt by the situation. Ziva has never seen him so hurt. She said:   
-“That night.. I was coming to your place Tony..”  
And then Tony remembered. He did not realize it back then, but her car was found closer to his apartment then hers. She was not driving home, she was coming to his place to tell him. She continued:  
-”I don’t remember much from that night but.. I know I had decided to tell you and then…”   
She was now sobbing, too overwhelmed by all the feelings she was going through. Tony grabbed her and pulled her to him. He hugged her as strongly as he could. 

They stayed like this for a long moment until Ziva’s eyes landed on Tony’s bandaged hand. She touched it and asked:   
-”What happened?”  
Tony felt ashamed of his behavior. He looked at his hand and said:   
-”too much alcohol, too much feelings and a mirror…”   
Ziva closed her eyes and landed a kiss on his hand, just like Tony did a few weeks ago when her doubts were keeping her awake at night. Tony leaned his forehead on hers and whispered:   
-”why are we hurting each other like this ?”   
Ziva felt a tear rolling down her cheek. Tony knew exactly why. She was never taught how to love. She was more used to hating and hurting and Tony knew who to blame for that. Eli has taught her that loving someone was giving him a weapon to hurt you. She had always seen love as a weakness, a hitch in the plan, something to be avoided and it was now Tony’s job to fix that. 

Ziva said:   
-”Let me see”  
Tony argued but Ziva was more stubborn than he was. She forced him to sit on a kitchen stool and said:   
-”Let me help !”   
She was carefully closing his wounds. Tony knew that by this, she was trying to make amends. To ask him to forgive her. She didn’t have to. He had forgiven her as soon as she had opened the door. That’s how weak he was when it came to Ziva. No matter how much she was hurting him, it only took him a look in her eyes to forgive everything. He was looking at her. He smirked as he saw her biting her tongue. This was something she was always doing when she was focused and it was always making him smile. Tony asked:   
-”Are you sure about this ?   
-”Stop moving”   
Tony was obviously very nervous:  
-”It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that.. You know.. It’s my right hand and I love my right hand… I mean I love both of my hands but.. My right hand.. We’ve been doing a lot of things together and..”  
Ziva raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a provocative grin. Tony smirked and said:  
-”Agent David.. Your mind is full of dirty thoughts”   
Tony laughed and mocked her but a second after he moaned:   
-”Ouch ! hey ! That’s painful !”  
-”Then stop mocking me when I have sharp objects inside your hand !”  
He kept looking at her as she was closing his wound. 

His hand was now less painful than before. He checked his new bandage and said:   
-“courtesy of Mossad’s training I guess ?”   
Ziva smiled and said:   
-“that and years of not following my mother’s advice when she was asking me to stay out of trouble”   
Tony sat down on the couch and pulled Ziva to him:   
-“I’m intrigued, tell me more about how the young and wild Ziva David was getting in troubles back in the days”   
Ziva chuckled. Her face was now close to his, their lips almost touching:   
-“I could but I would have to kill you after”   
-“I really hope it’s worth it then”   
Ziva leaned back and lifted the hem of her shirt. Tony looked even more intrigued. He smirked and said:   
-”now you’re talking my language”   
Ziva frowned and gave him a light punch on his ribs. She held her shirt above her navel and pointed at a little mark on her skin. She said:   
-”You see that scar here ? There was that place near our home. It was an old military facility with a big tower on top of which you could see the most beautiful sunset on the mediterranean sea. My brother and I used to go there almost every friday after school to watch the sunset and talk”   
Tony could see the sparkles in Ziva’s eyes as she was remembering her childhood.   
-“One night, as we were climbing down the brick facade of the tower, a car approached. We could not get caught trespassing in a military facility. So we had to rush our way down. That’s when one of the grips I was holding onto broke and I fell 6 feet down to the ground. I’ve landed on a pile of old wood which probably saved my life but left me with this scar. We ran back to our house and tried our best to hide our wounds. But my mother was not a fool. As soon as we stepped inside the house, she knew. She did not say anything in front of my father because he would have probably lectured me and said something like ‘you are my daughter, you can not do what other children do’.“ Ziva chuckled “I always thought he was saying that to protect me, be he was protecting himself as always. My mother came to my bedroom later with her medical kit and she dressed my wound without saying anything”. 

Tony slowly caressed the scar on her belly. That same belly in which his child was hiding a few weeks earlier. He could not take his eyes away from it. Ziva knew what was going on in the back of his mind. Her voice almost failed to ask:   
-”What if it’s a sign ?”  
Tony looked at her with confused eyes and asked:   
-”A sign of what ?”  
Ziva swallowed hard:   
-”That it was not meant to be. That I’m not made for this”   
Tony took a deep breath and calmly said:   
-”If you believe in that crap…”   
-”Tony I am serious”  
She was about to get up when Tony catched her wrist to keep her close. He locked his eyes into hers and cupped her cheeks:  
-”So am I. You would make an amazing mother Ziva. You’ll make the strongest, bravest and most beautiful mother the world has ever seen. And also the most stubborn which, I hope, is not hereditary because I am not sure I would be able to handle a smaller version of you”  
Ziva chuckled. Tony continued:  
-”For the record, I would have been the happiest man if I’ve had the chance to have a child with the woman I love, my best friend, my partner in crime and my ‘pain in my ass” coworker for whom I would take a bullet or jump on a grenade, which would be a shame because it would ruin that pretty face but anyway... I love you Ziva. And yes! I know it took me time to put words on it but I’m more scared to lose you than I’m scared of saying it. So here I am, making the big jump.”  
The words were finally out. Tony was looking so nervous that he was sweating. Ziva leaned her forehead on his and closed her eyes. It was so good to hear those words. Tony let a long breath of relief escape and whispered:  
-”We are a team Ziva, when you are hurt, I am hurt. So please let me help, don’t push me away, you know it won’t work with me. I’m here Ziva, I’m not going anywhere”   
Ziva felt another tear escape and with a smile she said:   
-”I know”

Tony’s bedroom - Middle of the night

Tony has been asleep for the last 3 hours. They have been talking a lot, crying just as much and kissing until their lips were hurting too much. It’s been a while since he was able to fall asleep that easily. Too much anger, too many feelings and nightmares were keeping him awake every night. But this time she was there, next to him, spooning against his body. He could feel the heat radiating from her body, he could feel her breathing, he could smell her scent. All these little things that he thought he would never get to feel again. His hands were locked around her belly, out of habit but this time it felt different. He remembered how he failed to protect her, how he failed to protect them. He pressed his hand on her belly and that’s when he felt her hand joining his. She stroked his hand as if she knew exactly what was going through his mind and she said:   
-”It’s not your fault Tony”   
He pressed his head on the crook of her neck and whispered:   
-”I can’t lose you Ziva.. We’ve lost a child and it feels like I’ve lost a part of myself.. And I didn’t even know it existed.. I can’t lose you too.. If I lose you.. I lose myself.. You are my Shannon, Ziva”   
Ziva felt so overwhelmed by the meaning of this last sentence that she had to take a deep breath. She rolled over to face him and cupped his face with her hands. His eyes were full of tears. No more hidden feelings, no more untold truth, now was the time for honesty and opened-hearts.   
Ziva pressed her lips on Tony’s and said:   
-”I am sorry for all the pain I put you through”  
Tony argued. He was not waiting for her to apologize but she pressed her index on his lips:   
-”shhh.. I am sorry and you were right. I wanted to do this mission to prove myself that I was still the Ziva I was 8 years ago when I first got here… but I am not or at least that’s not who I want to be anymore. I don’t want to be that Ziva anymore Tony”   
-”You don’t have to. We have changed Ziva, we are not who we once were.. And I don’t want to go back to that. I want to move forward… with you.. I need you for that because… changing is scary”   
-”we’ll change together”


	5. Chapter 5

2 days later. Tony and McGee were tailing a suspect. They were both waiting on the car, patiently waiting for their suspect to walk out from a coffee shop. Tony was looking through binoculars while McGee was worriedly looking at Tony. Tony was too quiet, too focused, too professional.   
McGee asked:   
“hey! Are you ok ?”  
“Yes! Why”  
“I don’t know, you’re just… different since.. you know.. you’re not annoying so I was wondering if you were alright”  
“yes I am”   
“sure ?”  
Tony paused. He sighed and admitted:   
“no..”  
“do you wanna talk about it ?”   
“I miss Ziva.. “  
“I thought you two were alright”  
“Yes we are.. It’s just that she’s staying at one of her friend’s house for a few days and I’ve been thinking a lot recently..”  
“thinking about ?”  
“the meaning of life..”  
“woah”   
“I know. We almost had a child McGeek..”  
“I know.. I’m still processing that you and Ziva had been dating the entire time and never told me about it so a child that’s… huge”   
“I know right. I’ve never really thought about it.. I mean I know I want to have children but now that I almost got one.. I’m scared that I might screw things up and that’s not what I want”   
“Well, maybe that’s because the only father figure you’ve ever known, Gibbs aside, was not the best one could wish for. You are not your father Tony and I don’t know if this will help but..” McGee paused “.. I am sure you would make a great father.”   
“You think ?”  
“Of course. Although I am not sure if this world is ready for a smaller version of you and Ziva mixed together”  
Tony winced at the thought:  
“This would means troubles”   
“For sure. And I am not sure we are ready to face a pregnant Ziva either”   
Tony winced again  
“She would kick my ass everyday and I would not be allowed to complain about it since I’m not the one carrying the baby. This would be paradise for her...”  
“...And hell for you”  
McGee gave a gentle tap on Tony’s shoulder as a sign of support and said with a mocking smile:   
-”I’m sure you’ll survive this” 

Same day at night - Tony’s place

Tony was watching a movie. A movie he had already seen a thousand times but he didn’t care. His mind was elsewhere anyway. This conversation he had with McGee during the afternoon was still on his mind. He was scared of being a father because he was scared of repeating the mistakes of the past. This thought had been paralyzing him for years and it had been blocking him from moving forward in his life. It was the past and they had agreed with Ziva to let go of the past to move forward together. He grabbed his phone and dialed his father’s number. One tone, two tones, three tones. Tony sighed. It was a mistake. He was about to hang up when Senior finally picked up the phone. Tony was so surprised that he felt paralyzed for a second. Senior said:   
”Hello ?”   
Tony stayed mute. Senior repeated:   
“Junior ? Hello ? Are you here ?”  
Tony swallowed hard and finally answered:   
“Dad ! Yes I am here”   
“Are you ok Junior ? It’s pretty late for a call”   
Tony checked at his watch: 1.30 am. He cursed himself in his mind. Why did he always have his existential crisis in the middle of the night ?   
“Yes, I am sorry. I am not gonna be long, I just needed to tell you something. Something important” He paused and took a deep breath before continuing “It’s ok dad.. I don’t blame you about… everything..”   
“Junior are you sure that you’re ok ?”   
Tony paused and thought about everything that has been happening in his life recently: his secret and forbidden relationship with Ziva, his fear of losing her, Dan, her abduction, the miscarriage, their fights, their decision to move forward... He simply answered:   
“No dad, I’m not ok”   
And this was his first step to healing: admitting that he was not ok. It felt good. He knew this feeling would not last but even if it was only for one minute, it felt amazingly good. They kept talking for long minutes, Tony remained elusive on his explanations but he promised his father that he would tell him everything later, once everything was settled. He hung up the phone and as he fell asleep he felt as if someone had taken a weight off his chest. 

The next day 

Ziva walked inside the small office and sighed. She wished this appointment was over already. She hated it but her psychological evaluation was mandatory to get back on the field. Dr Whitman welcomed her inside:  
“Agent David ! Welcome. Please, take a seat. I finally get to meet the legend”  
Ziva faked a smile. She knew this complement was his way of coaxing her. This was followed by a long and awkward silence.   
He said:   
“So, what do you wanna talk about first ?”   
Ziva, how was now starting to lose patience, said:   
“Look, I don’t need to talk with you about what happened. I am fine, I just need my badge back”   
The psychologist smiled and asked;   
“Why are you so eager to go back to work, agent David ? What you’ve been through is tough. People usually need time to get through a kidnapping or a miscarriage. You’ve been through both at the same time. Don’t you think that you deserve some time ?”   
“I took enough time already”   
“4 days ?”   
Whitman looked at Ziva with a raised eyebrow. Ziva sighed. This was going to take longer than she expected.   
“I don’t need to talk about things. What I need is to get my life back and put this behind me”   
“My colleague that you met at the hospital, told me that you were having nightmares. Do you still have those?”   
“Yes”  
“What happens in those nightmares ?”  
Ziva swallowed hard, she was reluctant to speak about her nightmares but finally said:   
“I’m in that basement again..My legs are covered in blood and I hear voices that are calling me”   
“What do they say ?”  
“They are begging to save them..”  
“Whose voices are they ?”  
“Dan’s and Tony’s.. But I can’t save them both”  
“Who do you choose to save ?”   
“Tony… every night I save him and I let Dan die and I know that I would save Tony a thousand time but I can’t stop thinking that Dan is a good man and he does not deserve all those things that happened to him because of me”   
“Was it really your fault ? Was this really your choice to put Dan, agent DiNozzo and yourself in this situation ? You are blaming yourself for decisions that you’ve never made agent David” 

After 2 long hours of psych evaluation.

Tony was sitting at his desk arguing with McGee for several minutes when Ziva stepped out of the elevator. When Tony saw her he jumped for his chair and walked to her:   
“Hey. What’s up ? What are you doing here ?”  
“I work here. Hi McGee”   
McGee waved at her. Tony continued:  
“Yeah I know but you are still on sick leave so..”   
“I had my first psych evaluation”  
“Oh yeah ! How did it go ?”  
“Good I suppose. You know how I feel about talking about myself with a complete stranger, especially when I’m asked questions about my father ! How can this be relevant to evaluate my capacity to work ?”  
Tony winced. Judging by how upset she was, he knew the meeting didn’t go as well as she pretended. He asked:  
“Please tell me you didn't punch him, threw any sharp objects at him or threatened to cut some of his most cherished body parts ?”   
Ziva scowled:  
“I did not.. but I really wanted to make him swallow his pen !”  
Tony chuckled:  
“That’s my ninja”   
Tony leaned forward to kiss Ziva. His lips touched hers and that’s when Gibbs rushed in and barked:   
“Hey !”  
“Sorry boss.. I got carried away”   
Gibbs walked to Ziva and asked:   
“Ziver.. How are you doing ?”  
“I’m fine Gibbs. I just want to go back to work and put this behind me”   
Gibbs kissed her forehead and whispered:   
“Take your time”   
Tony looked at his boss and said:   
“You know Boss, it’s a normal thing to do to show your affection to someone.. better than headslaps actually. It’s what normal people do…”  
“Not if they want to keep their job…”  
“Noted” 

A few day later - bullpen - 8am⠀  
⠀  
Tony had been obsessed with his hunt for Renée Benoit, just like Gibbs used to be obsessed with Ari. It’s been more than 2 weeks and still no sign of him. Tony checked his phone. No message. He had hoped for a text from Ziva. It’s been 3 days since he last saw her. He typed a simple “I miss U” and mocked himself for being so cheesy sometimes. Gibbs rushed in with a serious look on his face and no coffee in his hand. Something was going on. Tony jumped from his chair and asked:⠀  
-”You found something ?”⠀  
Gibbs walked to him and asked:⠀  
-”Where is Ziva ?”⠀  
Tony stammered: ⠀  
-”She’s staying at a friend’s house… why ?”⠀  
-”When was the last time you spoke to her ?” ⠀  
-”Yesterday.. On the phone. Why ? Is there something wrong ?”⠀  
At the same moment the elevator dinged and 3 mens in black suits entered the bullpen, one of them whom Tony knew better than the others. As they were walking to him, Tony greeted them:⠀  
-”Agent Sacks.. To what do we owe the displeasure this time ?” ⠀  
-”Agent DiNozzo.. I see that you still haven't grown up since the last time..”⠀  
-”Oh you mean the last time you tried to send me to jail for a gruesome murder I haven’t commited ?” ⠀  
-”Don’t worry agent DiNozzo, your time will come. For now I need to see Agent David”⠀  
Tony’s heart stopped for a second. The smartass smile that was enlightening Tony’s face desapeared instantly. ⠀  
-”Ziva ? Why ?”⠀  
-”2 days ago, the body of Mister Renée Benoit was found on his boat. Shot twice. Any idea who could have killed him ? Other than you and agent David of course” ⠀  
Sacks was looking at Tony with his usual smirk. Tony would have been very happy to wipe it from his face with his fists. ⠀  
Sacks asked again: ⠀  
“Where is agent David ?”⠀  
“I don’t know” ⠀  
“Do you really think I am that stupid Agent DiNozzo ?”⠀  
“Please tell me this is a rhetorical question because right now I have an answer for you but I don’t think you’re gonna like it” ⠀  
Gibbs cut short to the discussion and invited Agent Sacks and his men to Vance’s office. On his way up the stairs he threw a look at Tony. Tony nodded and walked to the elevator?

30 minutes later - somewhere in D.C

Tony was on the phone with McGee to help him find Ziva’s location. They were arguing about McGee’s indications:   
”No McGee ! When you tell me ‘turn right’, I turn right ! If you mean ‘turn right at the next intersection’ then SAY ‘TURN RIGHT AT THE NEXT DAMN INTERSECTION’ ! Is it here ?”   
Tony was standing in front of a beautiful house. Tony hung up the phone and walked to the door. He was looking through the window when he felt the presence of someone on his right. A black woman was standing a few feet away from him with a hedge shears in her hands and a threatening look on her face. She asked:   
”Can I help you ?”   
Tony looked at the tool and swallowed hard. He said:  
”I’m looking for someone but I must have made a mistake”   
A little smirk appeared on the woman’s face and she said:   
-”no you are in the right place, you must be Tony”   
Tony looked surprised. The woman walked to him and held her hand out:   
”I knew Ziva had good tastes”   
Tony shook her hand and she invited him to follow her. She led him to the backyard and pointed at a small shed. Tony knocked and waited. After a few seconds Ziva opened the door. She looked surprised to see Tony:  
“Tony! What are you doing here ? Is everything alright ?”  
Tony was looking troubled, she hugged him and let him walk inside. Tony was looking for the best way to explain everything to her. He stroked his forehead and said:   
“FBI is looking for you. They have found Renée Benoit’s body”  
Ziva was confused:   
“So what ? They think I killed him ?”  
“I don’t know but until we know more, Gibbs wants you to stay here”  
“I’m not gonna hide Tony. You know that hiding makes you look guilty”   
ZIva was now pacing through the room. Tony stopped her and said:  
“I know” Tony cupped her face and said “let’s me try to figure this out before you do anything stupid ok ?”  
“I am done hiding Tony”  
Tony sighed. How could she be so stubborn sometimes.   
She asked:  
“Is he really gone ?”   
“Yes, he got what he deserved”  
“I’m not sure about that”  
He knew she was relieved but troubled by the news.  
They hugged each other for long minutes, relieved that this monster was gone. 

An hour later. Tony was waiting inside the shed while Ziva was on the phone with her father. There was a bed and a small kitchen. He knew it was not the first time she was spending some time here, alone. He looked at some pictures on the wall. Old family pictures. He looked at a shelf and saw old handwritten books and suddenly he realized that this was her sanctuary, her secret place. She had never told him about this place and he felt as if he was trespassing.   
She walked in after a 20 minutes talk with her father. She was looking very disturbed, as always after talking to him. Tony asked:   
“So ? What did he say ?”  
“My father says that Mossad has nothing to do with that. He swore to me that he did not send any of his men after him as a retaliation”  
“Do you believe him”   
“Yes. My father said he would help us finding who killed him”   
“I’m not sure how to feel about that. That’s a nice place. Do you come here often ?”   
Ziva leaned on the countertop:   
“Sometimes. When I want to be alone and think”   
Tony walked to her, grabbed her by her hips and asked with his husky voice:   
“Think ? What do you think about Miss David ?”   
Ziva tilted her head, smirked and moved her head closer to his:   
“Life, work, you..”   
“Me ?”   
“Yes. I try to figure out how you can be so annoying and charming at the same time sometimes”   
“Ha ! That’s an old family secret. Legacy of the DiNozzo’s. It’s not always easy to be so attractive but you know that’s my burden”   
Ziva chuckled and closed the gap between his lips and hers.   
A cracking sound on the wooden floor outside stopped them. Ziva saw Odette on the doorstep. The old lady apologized:   
“I’m sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to check if everything was alright”   
Ziva smiled and walked to her friend:   
“Don’t worry, please come in. Odette, please meet my..” she hesitated “partner Tony DiNozzo. Tony, this is Odette Malone, one of my dearest friends”   
Odette smile and said:   
“I’ve heard a lot about you”   
“In a good way I hope”  
She smiled and said:   
“Not always”   
Tony chuckled before Ziva said:   
“We have to go. FBI wants to see us. I’ll call you later” 

2 hours later, Tony was back in the bullpen. Gibbs frowned at him when he saw Ziva by his side. Tony said:   
“I know, boss. I’ve tried everything”   
Ziva said:  
“I've nothing to do with that Gibbs”  
“I know but FBI will not be as easy to convince”   
Agent Sack walked in and asked Ziva to follow him. 

Ziva’s Interrogation. 

Ziva was looking at Sacks with an unfriendly look in her eyes. She was tired of fighting. Sacks was pacing through the room. He finally started:   
“First of all, I want to tell you that I am sorry for what happened to you, Agent David”   
“I don’t need your compassion…”   
“Agent David.. Always full of fire. Where were you 4 days ago between 1am and 3am ?”   
“At my friend’s house, Odette Malone. You can ask her she will confirm it to you”   
Sacks took Ziva’s necklace out of his pocket and placed it on the table in front of her. Ziva’s heart skipped a beat when she saw her necklace. She took the plastic back in her hands. Sacks said:   
“It was found on Benoit’s hand. How can you explain that ?”   
“I’ve lost that necklace the night I was captured, he must have taken it from me. I don’t remember anything”  
“You don’t remember, how convenient”  
Ziva threw a dark and deadly look to Sacks. How could he think that she was faking her memory loss. He was walking around Ziva like a predator around his prey. He continued:   
“We have found pictures of you and Agent DiNozzo in Benoit’s computer”  
Sacks placed pictures in front of Ziva and continued:   
“He was tracking you down. He was a threat to you and your family and you knew it. A threat that had to be taken care of. After everything he did to you. You knew that you would never be able to live a normal and safe life if he was free. He took a child from you. He tortured you. So you’ve decided to take care of it yourself. That night you sneaked into his boat where he was hiding. You wanted to confront him. That’s how you’ve settled the score.”  
Ziva sneered:   
“That’s where you’re wrong. You think that I was only taught to fix things by using violence. I am an investigator now, not an assassin. I’m happy that he’s dead but I would have preferred to bring him to justice.” 

Tony’s interrogation

Tony was pacing through the room. He had no idea how long he had been waiting in this room. Hours maybe, during which Sacks had been interrogating Ziva. He was like a lion in a cage. He was worried for Ziva. The door suddenly opened and Sacks entered.  
Tony said:  
“That funny I have that strange feeling of Deja-vu. What technique are you gonna use on me? Are you going to use a direct approach ? Are you gonna play the ‘good cop bad cop’ thing ? Oh or maybe the ‘I know what you’ve been through’ method, I like that one”  
“Keep playing smartass agent DiNozzo”   
Sacks’ eyes landed on Tony’s bandaged hand:   
“What happened to your hand agent DiNozzo ?”  
Tony knew what Sacks thought. This was looking like a fighting wound.   
“Bad day and too much alcohol”   
Sacks sat on the corner of the table and asked:   
“Can you explain this to me, agent DiNozzo ?”   
Sacks pressed play on the Tv remote and a video of a surveillance camera started. It was the interrogation of Renée Benoit. Tony saw himself rushing through the room, grabbing Renée Benoit and shouting that we would kill him. Tony sighed:  
“I was worried, Ziva was missing and he was playing with us. So yeah I’ve lost it !”  
“You’re clearly threatening Renée Benoit. You know what I think ? I think that you had a lot of reasons to kill him. He abducted your girlfriend and who knows what he did to her. You’ve lost a child because of him and he gets to walk away freely from this ?”   
Tony leaned forward and said:   
“This man is dead and I’m very glad he is. Does that mean I killed him ? No, but I honestly really wish I did for what he did to Ziva”  
“I’ve checked your computer, you’ve been hunting him down for days ! It was an obsession ! You’ve found him, you went to his boat, you fought and you killed him ! ”  
“I’m glad you’ve chosen to be a cop and not a filmmaker. This scenario is not very original”   
“You better have a strong alibi agent DiNozzo because your pretty smile is not gonna save you this time”   
As Sacks walked out Tony shouted:   
“You should really get that obsession with me checked agent Sacks” 

It’s been hours of interrogations. Hours of waiting without knowing what was going on in the other interrogation room. Hours separated from each other. Tony was leaning back on his chair with his legs on the table. He was busy throwing and catching food in his mouth when the door opened. Tony caught one of his snack in his mouth and said:   
“Finally, I was starting to miss my favorite FBI agent”   
“I can still call Sacks if you prefer”  
Tony jumped from his chair. He was ready for another round of interrogation but the soft voice of his girlfriend surprised him instead. Ziva was standing in the doorway. Tony asked:   
“What are you doing here ? Where’s Sacks ? Did you kill him ?” If you did, I want you to know that I am not mad. Did he beg for his life ?”   
Ziva chuckled:   
“No I did not.. Sorry. Apparently, it looks like we have strong alibis”   
Tony was confused:   
“Really ?”   
“We should go see Gibbs, he probably knows more” 

As they were walking back to the bullpen, Ziva froze as she saw the silhouette of a man she knew pretty well:  
“Aba !”  
Ziva rushed to her father while Tony stood still, speechless. Right now he just wanted to run away. Confronting an FBI agent who was trying to send you to jail for a murder you haven’t commited seamed way more pleasant than having to confront Eli David and tell him that you are dating his daughter. What was he doing here anyway ? As Tony walked inside the bullpen Ziva was saying:   
“Aba you should not have come ?”   
Eli spoke with his strong middle east accent:  
“My daughter is being framed for murder and I am not allowed to come and help ?”   
“Aba I am fine this was just a big misunderstanding”   
Eli’s eyes stopped on Tony who was now standing behind Ziva. Ziva said:   
“Aba, I am sure you remember agent Tony DiNozzo”  
The atmosphere was pretty tense as Tony and Eli shook hands. Eli asked:  
“Agent DiNozzo… How’s your shoulder since last time..”  
This little phrase was not meant to be nice, it was clearly a provocation. Tony’s jaw clenched as he remembered his last encounter with Ziva’s father, in the Mossad headquarter. He answered:   
“Much better Sir” 

Tony and Eli looked at each other for a long moment, sizing each other up. Ziva was looking at them, his father and the man she had chosen. She knew things were not going to be easy between them. Ziva rolled her eyes, why does everything always have to be so complicated between the men of her life ? She walked to her desk, Eli followed her and asked:   
“Why do I always get to see my daughter when she’s in trouble ?”   
Ziva sighed:   
“Oh please aba, don’t start”  
Eli grabbed the Israeli flag on her desk and said:  
“Adam sends his regards. You should call him some day”   
Ziva’s eyes met Tony’s. He was frowning, with his jaw even more clenched.   
Ziva simply answered:   
“I will”   
Tony raised an eyebrow that meant “really ?”.   
He violently closed his desk drawer, stood up and said: “Excuse me” before walking to the break room. Ziva looked at him going away and turned to Gibbs. He nodded at her and she walked out too. When she entered the break room, she found him pacing in front of the coffee machine. He was grumbling. She walked to him and said:   
“Hey, what’s wrong with you ?”  
Tony bitterly answered:   
“He’s testing me”   
“I know, don’t let him get into your head”  
Tony cut her off:   
“I can’t.. He’s your father Ziva and it’s always going to be a problem”  
Ziva cupped his cheeks:   
“Let me handle my father. I promise I’m not gonna let him stand in our way”  
Tony was holding her hips to keep her close to him when Eli entered the room. He cleared his throat to acknowledge his presence. Ziva turned to him with a reproachful look. Eli said:   
“Ziva.. Gibbs is looking for you”   
Ziva walked to the exit, followed by Tony when Eli stopped him.   
“Not you Agent DiNozzo..”  
Ziva was about to argue when Eli kissed her forehead and whispered:   
“Don’t worry, agent DiNozzo and I are just going to talk. I’m not gonna hurt him”   
The benevolent gaze of her father reassured her. She smiled at Tony and left the room. Tony looked at Ziva as she was going away. He did not know what to expect from this. 

Eli invited Tony to follow him and pointed at a table:  
“Sit down Agent DiNozzo”   
“Nah I am good”  
Eli firmly said:  
“Sit!”  
Tony sneered and whispered as he sat:   
“This is promising”  
“You probably know why I’ve asked you to stay”  
“Certainly not to drink coffee with me”   
“I see that you are still acting like a teenager”  
“Old habits die hard”  
“what is it that you want from my daughter ?”  
Tony sneered again and said:   
“I don’t ‘want’ anything from your daughter… I love her and I want to show her what being loved by someone really means… I want to show her that Love is not only waiting for someone to do something for you. I want to show her that being loved by someone can be good. What about you ? What do you want from me ? Are you gonna tell me that I’m not good enough for her ? Are you gonna ask me to back off, to stop dating your daughter otherwise you’ll send your secret ninja assassins to kill me ?”  
Eli sized Tony up for a moment and finally said:  
“Life is not like one of your movies Agent DiNozzo.. life is hard, life is painful…”   
“Oh yeah ! I’ve learnt that the hard way recently.. Look. I know what you think of me. You think that I’m just a clown, that I can’t be serious for more than 3 seconds and that I can only hurt Ziva but I am very serious about your daughter. We’ve been through things together that should have separated us, she tried to push me away but I stayed. She makes me feel whole and I’ve never felt this before. So you can try your best to get me out of her life, I’m never gonna give up. I am here and I’ll fight for her”  
His gaze was unflinching. He was looking Eli right in the eyes, waiting for his next phrase, ready to counter his arguments. Eli said:   
“Ziva is the most precious thing I have left, Agent DiNozzo. You think that you are the right man for her ? You think that you can make her happy ?”   
Tony confidently said:   
“yes”  
A little smirk appeared on Eli’s face. He stood up and held his hand out to Tony.   
“We’ll see about that”  
Tony stood up, shook his hand and Eli continued:   
“You’re gonna need more than words to convince me but for now, I’ll tell my ‘ninja assassins’ to back off”

Tony and Eli walked back to the bullpen. Ziva was worriedly waiting for them to come back. As she saw them she tried her best not to rush to Tony. She looked at him with concerned eyes. Eli said:   
“See, I brought him back in one piece”  
By a simple look in Tony’s eyes Ziva asked him if he was ok, to which he answered with a blink and a smirk. She did not know what this was about but she was reassured to see that Tony was not looking tense.   
Tony then focused his attention on Gibbs. He asked him:   
“Hey boss, Ziva told me I had an alibi. What is it ?”   
Gibbs typed something on his keyboard, waved at Eli to follow him and as he walked between Ziva and Tony’s desk he said:   
“Your father…”  
“What ?”  
Tony was confused, he had not seen his father for a while, how could he be his alibi. McGee said:   
“You called your father the night Renée Benoit was killed. Your phone call was located too far from the crime scene”  
“Ohhh yeah. Woah that’s the first time calling my father saved my ass”  
Ziva walked to Tony and asked:   
“What happened out there ?”   
“What happened where ?”  
“Come on, you know what I am talking about.. You and my father…”   
“Ohhhh that… We talked..”  
Tony was enjoying his teasing. Ziva not so much. She nervously asked:  
“And..”   
“We agreed to deal with this during a pistol duel tomorrow…”  
Ziva gave a strong punch on Tony’s shoulder. He moaned and said:   
“Alright alright.. We talked… About you and me… and I think that your father gave me his approval..”   
Ziva looked astounded, Tony continued:  
“..in his Eli David way. He went all ‘De Niro style’ in ‘meet the parents’ with the whole ‘I’m watching you’ thing, but I think I’ve handled it well”   
A smile spread on Ziva’s face.


	6. Chapter 6

A few days later  
The team was spending its time looking for Renée Benoit’s murderer while Ziva was assigned to desk duty all day. Tony was anxious. He was pacing through the room, nervously checking his phone. Ziva was gone to get a medical check up after her miscarriage to see if her body was healing normaly. McGee was trying to focus on his computer but it was impossible with Tony’s constant back and forth. He had enough:   
“Tony can you please sit down ! You are making me nervous and I don’t even know why !”   
“What ? I’m not doing anything ! You’re too sensitive McTouchy”   
“I’ve started to bite my own nails Tony ! I don’t know what this is about but it better be worth it”   
“You don’t understand McDrama. Of course it’s worth it. My sexual life is on the line here. It’s been 4 weeks.. I’m a 40 years old italian american man with a very beautiful and sexy girlfriend who sleeps next to me every night… Do you know how hard it is ? Of course not. The only social interaction you have is with your computer mouse… Elf Lord.” Tony cupped McGee cheeks and said “I’m genetically not made to wait that long”  
McGee rolled his eyes and sighed:   
“Come on Tony I have social interaction. Contrary to what you think but sex is not everything, ok”  
Tony’s eyes narrowed:   
“What are you talking about ? Of course sex is everything.. You only say that because you never had sex with Ziva”   
He finished his sentence with sparkles in his eyes. McGee winced and said:  
“Oh come on Tony, stop saying that ! You know it makes me uncomfortable”  
“Don’t worry McGee it’s gonna happen to you someday, you’ll find your Elf Lady”   
Gibbs rushed in and asked them for updates on the case. Tony and McGee were both standing near the plasma screen when Tony’s phone biped on his desk. Tony was now incapable to focus. He was glancing at his desk in hope that he would be able to check his phone soon. Tony sneaked to his phone, read Ziva’s text and suddenly break out into joy:  
“YES !!!!!”   
Tony was now in the middle of the squadroom, with both fists in the air, looking at his phone with Gibbs frowning at him. Tony said:  
“Sorry boss.. Urgent business” 

Ziva was at her place, waiting for Tony to come home. Her phone rang. She hang up and Tony immediately said:   
“You better be naked when I come home because I’m naked, horny and I bring champagne”  
Ziva was confused:   
“Wait, what ? Did you just say that you were naked ?”   
“Oh yeah ! I’m in the elevator right now, fully naked so you better be ready ! Tonight is our night”   
“Tony, are you crazy.. My..”   
Tony cut her off:  
“..Yes I am ! Are you only figuring this now ? Oh shit ! Someone called the elevator. Wait..”   
Tony put the phone away. Ziva called:   
“Tony !”  
Tony was now unstoppable. Ziva heard him talking to a stranger through the phone:  
“Hi…..it’s getting pretty hot these days…...bye”   
Tony ran out of the elevator scared that Ziva’s neighbor might call the police. As he rushed inside the apartment, he had the surprise to be welcomed by a semi amused, semi disconcerted Ziva and next to her was standing Eli David. Eli’s eyes narrowed as his look stopped on a bunch of flowers and a bottle of champagne that Tony was holding in front of his manhood. Ziva, who was trying to keep herself from laughing said:   
“I was trying to tell you that my father was there”   
Tony awkwardly answered:   
“Yes.. I can see that, thanks”   
The situation was getting more awkward every second. Tony said:   
“I’m gonna go and put some clothes on..”   
Eli said:   
“No I’m the one leaving. I’m not gonna disturb you much longer. I’m sure you both have a lot of things to talk about…”  
Eli kissed his daughter’s cheek and walked to the door. As he walked past Tony, he looked at him, from head to toe and gave him an insistent glare before walking out.

Tony looked sorry and tried to put on a smile. Ziva was biting her tongue. She pointed at the flowers and said:   
“Please tell me you were wearing clothes when you bought them”   
“I was, I only undressed when I was in the elevator which was obviously a little bit too early. You think he’s gonna hold it against me ? He probably hates me now, right ? Damn it! Just when things were getting better with him !”   
Ziva walked to him, grabbed the bottle of champagne and said:   
“Don’t worry, I’m sure he will forget about this.. In 10 years maybe”   
She gave him a kiss, glanced at the bunch of flowers and what it was covering and smirked at Tony:  
“Now let’s forget about my father, shall we ?”  
“Oh I can do that”   
Tony raised the flowers and asked:   
“You want to take care of these first ?”   
Ziva raised an eyebrow, bit her lip and said:   
“That’s not what I want to take care of right now”   
She grabbed the flowers and threw them away. Tony looked at the flowers collapsing on the couch:   
“I’m glad, you don’t..”  
Ziva was leading Tony to the bedroom. She stopped by the door, leaned on the door frame and pulled Tony to her. He was about to talk when she kissed him passionately and then whispered:   
“Stop talking..”   
“Yes Ma’am…”   
She grabbed his most sensitive body part which made him moan out of surprise and she whispered:  
“Don’t call me Ma’am..”   
“Sorry..Sweetcheeks”   
Tony was scattering Ziva’s clothes on their way to the bed. Once they were even in terms of nudity, he stopped her and took a moment to look at her face. She was gorgeous, sexy and amazingly attractive but most of all, she was his. He felt like the luckiest man on earth to be allowed to look and touch her naked body. Ziva felt her cheeks turn red and it made Tony smile that he could still make her blush. He whispered:   
“You’re beautiful and I am the luckiest man on earth”  
WIth that Ziva pulled Tony for a kiss and they both collapsed on the bed, ready to make the best out of this night. 

Tony moaned as he collapsed on the bed next to Ziva. He was panting and covered with sweat from long hours of love making. Ziva tried to catch her breathe and said:   
“Oh my god”   
Tony smirked and said:  
“You can call me Tony”   
Ziva laughed and slapped Tony’s chest which made him complain:   
“Hey! Slapping me after I gave you so many orgasms isn't a way to thank your man !”   
Ziva rolled on her side and propped herself on her elbows and teasingly said:   
“I thought spanking was a thing…”   
Tony leaned forward to kiss her and said:  
“Only if I’m the one giving them…”  
Ziva laughed and kissed his chest.   
Tony lay back down, his fingers entwined in Ziva’s hair. She was slowly caressing his biceps. She glanced at him and noticed that he was lost in his thoughts with a wide smile on his face. She asked:   
“Why are you smiling”  
“You makes me smile Sweetcheeks”   
“That is really cheeky”   
“Cheesy, not cheeky... And I’m a very romantic guy. Tony DiNozzo is not just a sex machine you know.. there is a heart beating inside of this very muscular chest” Tony paused and finally said “I was remembering the first time we met, in the squadroom. You remember ?”   
“Of course I remember. You were so intimidated by me”   
“No I was not ! I was just… confused..”   
Ziva cut him off and chuckled:   
“Yeah.. confused.. Now tell me what you thought of me, the first time we met. And be honest. I already know that you were thinking about doing exactly what we just did with me”   
“What ? You were the one teasing me and undressing me with your eyes. I almost felt violated”  
Ziva burst out laughing. It was so good to hear her laugh. Tony continued:   
“..almost.. Let's say that I was troubled by you. You were that young and sexy foreign beauty..”  
“.. who was intimidating you..”  
Tony sighed:  
“..who was intimidating me..”  
A large and proud smile appeared on Ziva’s face. She asked:   
“You think she would have liked me ?”   
“Who ?”  
“Kate”  
“Oh yeah for sure. She was very different from you but you two would have certainly got along. Oh god you would have both enjoyed teasing me and driving me crazy. It would have been a nightmare.. but I wish you could have met her”  
“Me too”

Tony and Ziva were watching a movie. Ziva was cuddled up to Tony’s side, her leg resting on his lap. Tony was holding a bowl of popcorn while he was slowly stroking her leg. Tony knew that movie by heart. He was saying all the lines out loud which was driving Ziva crazy. She grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it inside of Tony’s mouth to make him stop. Tony looked at her with sorry eyes and just when she thought she had won the fight, he said another line, letting some popcorn escape his mouth in the process. Ziva looked discussed and complained while Tony was incapable to stop laughing. A knock on the door suddenly dragged them out of their futile bickering. Tony and Ziva looked at each other, both trying to convince the other to go open the door. Tony begged: ⠀  
“It’s about to be my favorite scene of the movie” ⠀  
Ziva sighed and stood up. She grabbed another handful of popcorn and walked to the door. She opened the door and her heart skipped a beat. She said: ⠀  
“Dan ! What are you doing here ?”⠀  
Dan was standing on the doorstep, his clothes totally soaked by the rain outside. He was shaking, obviously in a daze. ⠀  
Ziva’s eyes then landed on his hand and the gun it was holding. ⠀  
Dan started: ⠀  
“I’ve killed him Gina, how can I live with that ?”⠀  
“What are you talking about ?”⠀  
He sniffed and said: ⠀  
“My father, I’ve killed him, I didn’t mean to Gina, I swear” ⠀  
Ziva was trying to remain as calm as she could. She didn’t want to scare Dan. She said:⠀  
“What happened ?”⠀  
Dan was very nervous and devastated. He sobbed: ⠀  
“I went to his boat to talk to him, about you..and..he said those things about you..and.. I lost it. We fought and the gun went off. I didn’t mean to..I can’t live with what I did”⠀  
Dan was holding the barrel of the gun close to his head. Ziva said: ⠀  
“I can help you Dan, I know what you feel but first you have to give me the gun” ⠀⠀  
“He was a monster Gina..” ⠀  
“I know” ⠀  
Dan was slowly relaxing when Tony’s voice raised from the living room: ⠀  
“Hey sweetheart, come back, you’re gonna miss the best part. Jack is about to...” ⠀  
Tony appeared behind them. Ziva saw Dan’s anger raised. 

Dan was now more than nervous, he was full of rage. He bitterly said:   
“You ! that’s all your fault”   
Ziva stepped in to get Dan’s full attention and said:   
“Dan, Tony has nothing to do with that and you know it”  
Dan was dangerously waving the gun in her direction as he said:  
“No, no, no.. You both really took me for a fool like my father! You’ve played me with your little role-play while he was screwing you ! I’ve been trying for hours to find a solution to end this. But there’s no solution Gina”   
Ziva took a step forward:   
“Dan please… You don’t have to do this”   
Tony whispered:   
“Ziva, step back, the guy looks very nervous”  
Ziva nervously answered:   
“I know !”   
Dan was more nervous than ever. The gun could go off any moment. Tony had to put an end to this immediately. He pulled Ziva, placed himself in front of her and said:   
“Hey dude, if you need to take your revenge on someone here, it’s on me, not on Ziva. She’s tried everything to protect you”  
Ziva panicked as she saw Tony walking toward Dan. Ziva discretely took her phone from her pocket, dialed Gibbs’ number and put him on speaker. She put her phone back in her back pocket. Tony took a step forward and said:   
“Alright so now give me the gun so we can talk”   
Dan raised the gun and nervously said:   
“Don’t come closer ! I don’t want to talk ! I know what you are trying to do !”   
Tony was now very close to a very nervous Dan. He said:   
“So what? You’re gonna shoot me too? You’re not gonna shoot anyone with your safety on”  
Dan glanced confusedly at the gun and noticed that the safety was not on. This was enough distraction for Tony to jump on him. He only had time to slam him against the wall when a gunshot was heard. A groan raised from the men but Ziva didn’t know from whom until she saw Tony collapsing on the floor. She yelled “TONY!” and caught him as he fell. Dan ran away but Ziva was too busy with Tony to care. Tony was moaning in her arms. Ziva saw a gun wound on his abdomen. She covered it with her hand and said:   
“It’s ok Tony. I’m here”  
A neighbor walked out, worried about the noise he had just heard. Ziva yelled:   
“CALL AN AMBULANCE!” 

Tony moaned. Ziva said:   
“Shhh.. come on stay with me Tony.. talk to me..”  
Tony groan and said:   
“That sucks I didn’t had time to think about a strong punchline for the day I die but at least it’s a pretty heroic way to die”   
Ziva said:   
“Shut up ! Don’t you dare die in my arms !”  
Tony coughed and moaned:   
“It’s gonna leave a pretty badass scar. Chicks love men with scars”   
Ziva sobbed:   
“Why did you do that !”  
“Told ya I would take a bullet for you”   
“You should not have put yourself in danger for me, you stupid dumbass !”  
And she kissed him. Tony felt the salty taste of her tears on his lips and said in a groan:   
“That’s not a way to treat a dying man. By the way, if I die please mourn me, let's say for the next 10 to 20 years at least...”   
Ziva could not fight the little chuckle that escaped between her sobs. Tony laughed too and quickly moaned as it increased the pain in his abdomen. Gibbs appeared around the corner with his gun in hand. He rushed to them and knelt next to Tony, who said:  
“Oh hey boss.. What’s up ?”   
Gibbs put pressure on his wound and said:   
“The ambulance is on its way, stay with us DiNozzo ! ”   
Tony groan again:  
“On it boss”  
Ziva looked at the wound and saw all the blood that Tony had already lost. Gibbs noticed it and said:   
“Ziver, hey ! Look at me ! He’ll be fine” 

5 minutes later the ambulance arrived. Gibbs and Ziva had to step back to let the paramedic work. It broke Ziva’s heart to let go of Tony’s hand. She looked at the stretcher going away and looked at all the blood on the floor and on her clothes. She rushed inside her apartment and grabbed her gun. Gibbs stopped her and saw a furious look on her face. He said:   
“Hey ! Don’t ! We’ll catch him later !”  
Ziva struggled. Gibbs insisted and grabbed her gun:   
“Now go ! He needs you !”   
Ziva looked into Gibbs eyes and her mind snapped. She let go of her gun and rushed to the ambulance. 

Ziva had been waiting in the family room for hours. Gibbs was in the corridor, on the phone with Vance. He was keeping an eye on Ziva. When he hang up, McGee walked in with a worried look on his face:  
“How is he ?”   
Gibbs said with a concerned face:   
“Still in surgery”  
McGee glanced at Ziva:   
“How is she ?”   
Gibbs said:   
“How do you think she is McGee?”  
“Yeah I know, stupid question. I put a BOLO on Daniel Benoit and I called Tony’s father. He will be there in 4 hours. What else do you want me to do ?”  
“Stay with her McGee. You keep an eye on her as long as he’s still on the run”   
“You think she would…”   
McGee did not finish his sentence. Of course she would run after the man who shot Tony. She would run after everyone who hurts her family.   
Gibbs’ phone rang again and he walked away. McGee walked inside the family room. He didn’t know what to say. He held some clothes and said:   
“I brought you some clothes”   
Ziva looked at him with a numb look on her face. At first she did not get why we brought her clothes. She looked at her own clothes and saw the blood that was covering them. She cleared her voice and said:   
“Hm.. Thank you McGee”  
McGee sat. There was an awkward silence before McGee finally spoke again:   
“I’m sure he’ll be fine. It’s Tony, nothing can stop him”   
Ziva knew McGee was trying to be reassuring, he was trying to play his big brother role. She smiled and said:   
“You know you don’t have to McGee.. I’m fine”   
McGee chuckled:   
“Tony told me to never believe you when you say that you’re fine”  
Ziva smiled:  
“That’s because he knows me very well”   
McGee placed his hand on Ziva’s shoulder. He didn’t know if he should stay quiet or say something. He finally said:   
“I’ve never told this to you but..” he hesitated “..I’m glad you finally found each other. You deserve this, both of you. I’m sure you know it but Tony loves you. He never clearly said it to me but does not have to say it, it’s written on all the things he says and does. The way he looks at you, the way he speaks about you”   
A tear escaped Ziva's eye and rolled down her cheek. She turn to McGee and smiled:  
“Thank you McGee”   
She grabbed his arm and placed her head on his shoulder. 

A nurse walked in, she checked on her papers and said:   
“Are you the family of Anthony DiNozzo”   
Ziva jumped from her chair and said:   
“Yes. We are ! How is he ?”   
“He’s out from surgery. The bullet didn’t do any serious damage but he has lost a lot of blood. We had to put him on a coma to help reducing his fever”   
Coma. This word was ringing in Ziva’s head. Things were not supposed to go this way. She had imagined that he would wake up from surgery and crack a joke like he always does. She suddenly felt like she was about to faint. McGee saw it and grabbed her hand. This was exactly what she needed, someone to keep her feet on the ground. She asked  
“Can I see him ?”  
“Yes but one at a time”  
She walked to Tony’s room and took a deep breath before walking in. She hated hospitals. Hospitals had only been bringing bad news for her, even more since her last stay. She walked in and saw Tony laying on his bed, surrounded by monitors and she suddenly felt overwhelmed again. She could not see him like that, he could not be another name added to the long list of people she had lost. She could not catch her breath, she felt hot and dizzy. She rushed out of the room and took a deep breath. Gibbs walked to her, she was out of breath and completely panicked. He grabbed her and held her in his arms to calm her. She sobbed:   
“I can’t Gibbs!”  
“Hey! Hey! It’s ok”   
She stayed in Gibbs’ arms for long minutes. He was holding her tight. He kept whispering:  
“It’s ok..”   
Eli David appeared around the corner and looked at them. He looked at her daughter in another man’s arms, soothing her fear. This should have been his duty but he has lost that right a long time ago. He looked at Gibbs cupping his daughter’s cheeks and talking to her and he realized that she had made a family for herself, away from him, away from his rules. Ziva disappeared inside Tony’s room and Eli walked to Gibbs to get some updates on the situation. 

Ziva stood still near the door for 5 minutes before she finally found the strength to walk to Tony’s side. She looked at him. He was looking peaceful. He seemed like he was about to wake up and make one of his typical pranks like scaring her to death and laugh about her deadly expression until he’s out of breath. She would give everything to see him so proud of his own prank and mock her. But he was not. He was lying down on this hospital bed, in this dark and cold room. She grabbed his hand. She loved his hands so much. His hands were soft and her arms so reassuring when they were wrapped around her. That’s the only thing she wished for right now, to be held by those arms. She sat on the chair and brought his hand to her mouth. She whispered a prayer in hebrew. She had never been particularly diligent toward religion but she was ready to try everything to save him.   
When Gibbs walked in an hour later to check on her, he found her asleep on the bed, cuddled up to Tony’s side. Her need to be close to him and to feel his chest moving as he sign that he’s still alive had obviously been too strong.   
Gibbs grabbed the small blanket on the chair and placed it on her shoulders. 

Ziva had spent her entire night by Tony’s bedside. She needed to stretch her legs, some fresh air and probably a coffee. She kissed Tony’s hand before leaving and walked out of the room. She was surprised to find her father sitting on the bench in front of Tony’s room. Judging by his face, he had been waiting here all night. She said: ⠀  
“Aba ? Why are you still here ?” ⠀  
Eli stood up and kissed his daughter’s forehead: ⠀  
“I was waiting for you. Are you ok ?”⠀  
Ziva started to regret walking out of the room. She didn’t want to talk right now. She sighed and started walking: ⠀  
“Yes Aba I’m fine. I just need to…”⠀  
Eli grabbed her hand to stop her. Ziva looked confused. Eli said: ⠀  
“Ziva…talk to your father” ⠀  
“I don’t need to talk, Aba. I need Tony to be fine, I need to find the man who shot him and I need all of this nightmare to be over ! So please Aba not now” ⠀  
“If you don’t want to talk that’s fine. I’ll do the talking” ⠀  
Ziva sighed again. Eli dragged her to sit on the bench with him. ⠀  
“Do you know why your mother and I called you ‘Ziva’ ?” Ziva shook her head. “2 years after our marriage, your mother got pregnant. Unfortunately we lost the baby 3 months after. The doctors said that she would never be able to carry another child. Your mother was devastated. Having children was her biggest dream and this dream had been taken away from her so abruptly. One day, she got very sick. I took her to the hospital and they told us that she was pregnant again. This was a miracle. You were our miracle, Ziva. You were a sign of God, that’s why we chose a name that means ‘light of God’.”⠀  
Ziva asked: ⠀  
“How do you know ?”⠀  
Eli chuckled and said: ⠀  
“I’m your father, it’s my job to know everything”⠀  
Ziva was not a fool. Someone must have had told him about her miscarriage. She looked at her father with questioning eyes and asked: ⠀  
“Who told you ?”⠀  
He finally said:⠀  
“Don’t blame agent McGee. I can be quite persuasive sometimes. But that does not matter. What I want you to remember is that there’s always hope even in the darkest time. He will get through this. You will all get through this. Can, your old father, have his hug now ?”⠀  
Ziva smiled and hugged her father.⠀  
⠀

As Ziva was hugging her father she saw another man walking around the corner of the hallway. He was obviously lost and worried. Ziva nervously released her grasp on her father’s shoulder and looked at the man. Eli noticed her reaction:   
“Who’s that ?”  
“It’s Tony’s father”   
Ziva was not in the best emotional state to handle her father and Tony’s father right now. Senior hugged her as soon as he saw her. He was looking so relieved to find her here:   
“Oh Ziva, my dear! I came as soon as I could. How is he? McGee told me he was in a coma. What happened”   
“He was shot. It’s a long story”  
An awkward silence followed. Eli and Senior looked at each other. Ziva broke the silence by saying:  
“Tony, this is my father, Eli David. Aba, this is Tony’s father, Anthony DiNozzo Senior”  
Senior looked surprised. Eli held his hand out but Senior ignored it, embraced Eli and said:   
“It’s an honor to meet the father of such a gorgeous lady”  
Eli was obviously disturbed by such familiarities. Senior continued:   
“My son is lucky that I’m not 30 years younger, otherwise I would have asked you for her hand”   
Eli politely smiled. Ziva cut short to the conversation and said:   
“How about we go see your son?”  
Senior and Ziva walked inside Tony’s room. Senior stood next to his son. Ziva said:   
“I’ll give you some time with him alone”  
“No please, stay”  
He grabbed his hand and said:   
“You have to fight Junior. I know I’ve never been a very present father for you and that you deserved a better father than I’ve been. I promise I’ll make it up to you. I love you Junior”   
Ziva was looking at the old man, her eyes filled with tears. She wished Tony could have heard him say those words. It was the only thing he needed, to hear his father saying that he loved him. Senior looked at Ziva. He hugged her and said:   
“Junior is lucky to have you”   
Ziva said:   
“I’m lucky to have him. Your son is a great man. He stuck around when everyone would have ran away. He stood up for both of us. You might not have been very present in Tony’s life, but you’ve raised a good man. He deserves to hear those words from you”   
“I’m not sure he will listen”  
“He will, trust me” 

2 days. 2 days since she last spoke to him. 2 days since she last saw the beautiful color of his eyes. 2 days since she felt the sweet feeling of his lips in hers. She had stayed by his side all this time but her mind was somewhere else. Tony’s aggressor was still out there and she had done nothing to stop him. She felt as if she was letting him down by not trying to find Dan. She did not wish to kill him. She knew she had a big part of responsibility in all of this and that his intentions were not to kill Tony. His life had been shattered the day she walked into it. She needed one last confrontation with him. To bring this nightmare to an end, for him, for her and for Tony. She was done crying. Her tears had been replaced by anger. Not against Dan but against this entire mission that was destroying too many lifes. She was curled up in the armchair next to Tony’s bed, wrapped into his Ohio State hoodie. It was his favorite one, he was wearing it all the time at home and it smelled like him. It was too large for her but so comforting. Being wrapped in his hoodie and his smell was like feeling wrapped in his arms. She was walking out of the room only to get a coffee from time to time and everytime she was displeased to find an agent, waiting by the door to watch over her. She has complained many times to Gibbs saying that she didn’t need a babysitter but she knew that this was more to make sure that she was not doing anything stupid to avenge Tony, more than to ensure her safety. She was watching ‘the wizard of Oz’. Watching a classical movie was the best way to feel close to Tony again. She yawned, her eyelids were so heavy. She hadn’t had a complete night of sleep for the past 2 days. The last scene of the movie started. Dorothy was about to say the last line of the movie but instead of Judy Garland’s voice, Ziva heard Tony’s voice saying:   
“Oh, Auntie Em, there's no place like home!”  
Ziva jumped. She looked at Tony and found him awake and smiling. She gasped out:   
“Tony!”  
She leaned over and hugged him as strongly as she could. Tony moaned and said:   
“I knew it was just a facade, you love classic movies don’t you” 

Tony moaned as he tried to sit:  
“what did I miss ? Don’t tell me that it’s been 4 years and you are now married to a boring lawyer. I’ve seen that movie. It does not end well”   
Ziva smiled and rolled her eyes. Her class clown was back. She ran her hand through his hair and brought his face to hers. Tony cupped her cheeks and laid back down on the bed, pulling Ziva with him for a long and sweet kiss.   
Ziva asked:   
“How do you feel ?”  
“I’m hungry. I would kill for Pepperoni pizza with extra cheese”  
Tony moaned as he tried to stand. Ziva rushed to him to help him:   
“What are you doing ?”  
“I wanna see what it looks like”   
“Get back on your bed before you hurt yourself !”  
Tony complained. Ziva insisted:   
“Tony if you don’t get back in your bed now, I’m gonna have to call a nurse and ask her to put you back to sleep”  
Tony and Ziva were engaged in a fight when McGee walked in. He found them both hanging onto each other, almost lying on the bed and Tony moaning because of his wound.  
He looked surprised and said:   
“Oh sorry… I didn’t know… I’ll wait outside”   
He walked out of the room, convinced that he had just interrupted Tony and Ziva’s physical reunion.   
There was an awkward silence between Tony and Ziva, followed by a burst of laughter. Tony asked:   
“Have you seen his face ?”  
“You think he believed we were….”  
“Oh yes”  
Ziva opened the door. McGee said:   
“I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt”   
Ziva smiled and said:   
“You did not interrupt anything McGee. Come in”  
Tony welcome McGee:  
“Hey ! Here’s my favorite probie”   
“How are you Tony ?”  
Tony moaned and said:  
“Never felt better, McSidekick. Did you miss me ?”   
“Just as much as you miss the plague Tony”   
“Haha very funny”   
“Did she cry ? I’m sure she did”   
McGee looked at Ziva and said:  
“Cry ? Nah she was probably a bit annoyed at first but then she realized that she had found a way to keep you quiet”   
“I’m sure you were all very worried about me”   
Ziva and McGee shared a mocking look.


	7. Chapter 7

When Ziva walked back inside Tony’s room she found the bed empty. She heard grunts coming from the bathroom. She stuck her head through the door and discovered Tony, bare chested with his bandage off. He was looking at his wound. She said:   
“You really want to piss me and the nurse off, don’t you ?”   
“I want to see how it looks. That’s some pretty badass scar, isn’t it ?”  
Ziva rolled her eyes, grabbed the bandage and put it back on his wound.   
“You’ve been very lucky Tony. A few inches higher and it would have damaged your kidney”   
“The luckiest one is Dan. If he hadn’t shot me, I would have kicked his ass”  
Ziva sighed:   
“Tony…”   
Tony noticed that she was now more tensed:  
“What ?”  
Ziva knew that now was not the time:   
“Nothing..”  
Ziva helped him get back on his bed and Tony asked:   
“So come on, tell me, what did I miss ?”  
Ziva said:  
“my father met your dad”  
“oh my god.. I’m sorry for that, your father must hate me even more now”   
“First of all, my father does not hate you. Second, your father has behaved very well. I think my father likes him”  
“really ? I’m even surprised that my father took time to come down here. He never stops to surprise me”   
Ziva hesitates:   
“You have to talk to your father Tony”  
Tony sighed:  
“Ziva please I’m not in the mood right now to have a argument with my father”   
“Your father is worried Tony”   
Tony bitterly said:   
“Better late than never..”  
“your father came. He was worried about you and he showed up. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted ?”  
“Yeah he showed up Ziva, but he is 40 years late! Where was he when I needed him ? I called him because I was not doing ok and he never called me back. Now I almost die and he shows up. Do I have to be dying to have a serious talk with my father?”  
Ziva’s voice soften She grabbed Tony’s hand and said:   
“Tony. We have both agreed to change. We want to start a new chapter of our lives. This chapter starts now, your father is here, this is your chance to make things better… Please…Give him a chance. Can you do this for me ?”  
Ziva looked at him with puppy eyes. Tony sighed. Wounded or not, he was not strong enough to fight her beautiful eyes. He laid his head back onto the pillow and sighed:   
“I’ll think about it.. but only because you asked nicely… and because I can’t resist when a sexy woman is begging me”   
Ziva smiled proudly and gave him a thankful kiss. 

Ziva was waiting outside Tony’s room while he was getting examined by a doctor. Ziva had been joined by Senior and they were now engaged in a talk about Tony. Senior said:  
“I’m glad that Tony has someone like you in his life. You are the best thing that ever happened to my son Ziva. He is very lucky to have you”  
Ziva smiled and hugged Senior. She said:   
“I’m very lucky to have him. There’s not a lot of men like him” She raised her eyebrows and said “fortunately. Your son is a good man. He saved my life and not just a few days ago. He’s making me a better person everyday. You should be proud”  
When the doctor exited the room, Ziva and Senior walked in, still absorbed by their discussion:   
“Tony was a very shy kid”  
“No way !”  
“yes ! He was always tied to his mother’s apron strings”  
Ziva panicked, she had no idea what this meant.   
“Hmmm..”  
Tony sighed:  
“It means that I was following my mother everywhere. Please dad stop annoying Ziva with those old stories and I wasn’t shy I was just very selective with my friends”   
“He is not annoying me Tony, this is actually very interesting. Please continue”   
“So.. What was I saying ? Oh yes.. always glued to his mother.. and then puberty happened..”  
Ziva chuckled:  
“It’s actually still happening”   
Tony complained:   
“Hey ! Ok stop that’s enough. You two are not staying in the same room together”   
Tony pulled Ziva to him and placed his hands on her ears. Ziva laughed and briefly struggled. Tony released his grasp on her and Ziva said:   
“I’m gonna give you some time. I’ll be right back”   
She tenderly kissed Tony and whispered:   
“Be nice”   
“I’m always nice”  
“Hm..hm..”   
Ziva raised an eyebrow, obviously not fooled by Tony’s lies.  
Senior looked at Ziva walking out and said:   
“She really is a gorgeous lady”  
“Yeah she’s great”   
An awkward silence filled the room until Senior said:   
“How are you Junior ?”  
“I’m fine, it’s just a scratch”   
“I was not talking about this..”  
Tony sighed, he was not sure that he was fully ready to talk about it. He struck his face and said:   
“I don’t even know where to start” 

Tony said:   
“I’ve had some pretty hard days lately. Do you know what it’s like to come to work everyday, knowing that you will see that person that you love so much, but seeing that person makes you so happy and desperate at the same time ?”  
Senior shook his head. Tony continued:   
“I’ve been fighting with that feeling for years and when I’ve finally decided to tell her everything, she started dating someone else. I had to watch her every day, building a relationship with someone else. We’ve been fighting about this. She tried to push me away. But you know me.. the more you try to push me away the more I want to find the truth. I went to confront her and I discovered that this was just a work thing. She was dating that guy for an assignment. She got into trouble and ended up in this hospital. That’s when we learned that she was pregnant” Tony paused and swallowed hard “from me. And she had lost it”.   
Tony saw his father’s face change. He continued. Saying this out loud was acting like a therapy for him:   
“That’s why I called you. I needed to talk to someone”   
Tony’s father was speechless. He was looking at Tony and realized what his son had to go through. Senior walked to Tony and took him in his arms. Tony was surprised by this gesture. Senior whispered:   
“I’m sorry son”   
Tony, who was still stunned by that sudden sign of affection from his father, wrapped his arms around him and hugged him. They hugged each other for long minutes until Senior took a step back and cupped his son’s face. He looked at him and said:   
“I’m sorry that you had to go through this and I’m proud of you Junior. I know I should have told this before but I love you. It’s probably not thanks to me but you are a good man Junior. Your mother would be so proud of the man you’ve become”   
Tony smiled. He had wished to hear those words for years. For a second he cursed Ziva in his mind. How could she be so right all the time ! Tony smiled and said:   
“Thank you dad”   
When Ziva walked back later she asked:   
“So how did it go?”  
“It went pretty well”   
Ziva smiled victoriously. Tony said  
“Don’t say it”   
Tony knew she was about to say ‘I’ve told you so’.

2 hours later. McGee walked inside Tony’s room. Ziva was surprised. He was looking concerned by something. She asked:   
“What’s wrong McGee ?”  
Tony knew it had something to do with Dan. He asked:   
“It’s about him ? Tell me you got him ?”   
He felt Ziva getting more tense. She was looking at McGee, desperate for an answer. McGee nodded. Tony said:   
“Good ! That asshole can go to hell !”   
Ziva ignored Tony’s reaction. Tony knew it was making her uncomfortable but he could not help it, after all, Dan almost killed him. Ziva was confused by McGee’s attitude. She could see that something else was bothering him. She asked:   
“What is it McGee ?”  
McGee briefly tried to find the right words. He finally said:   
“He wants to talk to you Ziva”  
Ziva was speechless, surprised by what McGee had just said. Tony, on the other hand immediately said:   
“No way. No, it’s not happening!”  
Ziva sighed:   
“Tony..”   
“What ? He has done enough damage, Ziva. I don’t want him around you ever again”  
Ziva got carried away:   
“This is not your decision to make Tony! I’ve ruined his life, the least I can do is to go and talk to him! That man has nobody else and he’s gonna go to prison because of me !”  
McGee felt like he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He wished that he could just disappear right now. Being in such a tiny space during an argument between those two was like running on the battlefield with no armor and weapons. Tony grabbed Ziva’s hand and tried to calm her:  
“Ziva.. I just..”  
Ziva took her hand away and said:   
“I know ! I know that you’re going to say that it’s not my fault. I know that I've almost lost you because of him and I should hate him but I still feel like this is all my fault. You can disagree if you want but I’m still going. I owe him this Tony”   
Tony cursed himself for having chosen the most stubborn woman on the planet but he also knew that the key to her full recovery was going through this confrontation. She grabbed her bag and walked out of the room without looking at him.  
McGee threw a sorry look to Tony. He didn’t want things to escalate like this. Before he walked out, Tony stopped him by saying:   
“McGee! You keep your eyes on her for me”   
McGee nodded:  
“Don’t worry, I will” 

Gibbs walked out of the interrogation room when Ziva arrived. He looked at her with concerned eyes. She walked to him and he asked:   
“Are you sure ?”  
“Yes. I need this too”   
Gibbs knew what Ziva was feeling deep inside. That guilty feeling. He kissed her forehead and walked away. When Ziva walked in, Dan looked relieved to see her. He said:   
“I didn’t know if you would come”   
Ziva stood still in the corner of the room. Dan continued:   
“Is he ok ?”  
Ziva nodded, surprised that he would ask about Tony. Dan said:   
“Good. I’m glad. I swear to you I didn’t mean to hurt him..or you. The only one I wanted to hurt was me”  
Ziva walked to the chair and sat. She looked at Dan for a moment. She grabbed his hands and said:   
“Don’t blame yourself Dan. It was an accident”   
Dan said:   
“I killed my father Gi.. Ziva. How can I live with that”   
“You will forgive yourself. It will take a lot of time but one day you will learn to live with what you did”  
“I’m not sure I can”   
“Yes you can. I had to do things.. things that I’m not proud of. Things that I wish I didn’t have to do. And I had to go through that feeling too”   
Dan was confused. He was discovering a completely different woman. He asked:   
“What did you do ?”  
Ziva’s eyes got filled with tears:   
“I killed my brother. He was hurting people. Good people. He had to be stopped”   
Dan was speechless. Ziva swallowed hard:   
“I’ve hated myself for years. I am the one who pulled that trigger. He protected me his entire life and I sacrificed him for people I did not know. I knew him. I knew what a good brother he was. But his sins were too great. He could not change anymore. Someday he would have been killed. But he would have taken so many innocent lives before that. I could not let any more people die because of him. If anyone had to stop him, it had to be me”   
Ziva’s voice was shaking. Dan grabbed her hands and asked:   
“You did what you had to do”  
Ziva smiled:   
“That day… I’ve lost a brother but he offered me a family..You’ll get through this Dan”  
Dan gave a faint smile and said:   
“I will”  
On the other side of the two-way window, Eli David was looking at the scene. 

Dan was taken away by 2 FBI agents. Before he disappeared, he glanced one last time at Ziva and said:  
“I hope he’ll make you happy. You deserve it”  
Ziva smiled as an answer. She stayed for long minutes in the empty room. She heard footsteps coming in her direction. She looked at the entrance and saw her father. He was looking at her with concerned and sorry eyes. He must have heard her talking about Ari. He walked in and closed the door. Their conversation was not for anybody else’s ears. He sat in front of her. She was looking at her hands on the table as a kid that just got caught after a mischief. Eli grabbed her hand and said with his strong Middle East accent:   
“I’m sorry Ziva”   
These words in her father’s mouth was something she thought she would never hear. She burst out crying. She cried for long minutes, as if these words from him were the key to release her pain. That pain that she had kept locked inside herself for years. Eli said:   
“Why did you lie about this ?”  
Ziva was trying to regain composure:   
“It was the best thing to do”   
“You’ve carried the weight of that secret on your shoulders for years. It could have destroyed you”   
Ziva wiped her tears and said:   
“It did. A part of me died with Ari that night”   
“Your brother was a complicated man”   
“the apple doesn't fall far from the tree”   
Ziva smiled as she knew that Tony would have been proud of her. Eli continued:   
“I know I have my part of responsibility in this. Ari was my son and your brother. It was not your duty to deal with this”  
“What is done is done. We can’t do anything about it. I just wish…” she paused for a moment “I just wish I had more time with him”  
“You did what was right. I’m sure he knows it”  
“You think he would have forgiven me ?”  
“I have no doubt”   
Eli stood up and walked to his daughter. He looked at his child and cupped her cheeks. Her eyes were still full of tears. He looked at her and said:  
“Now it’s time for you to do the same”   
He kissed his daughter’s forehead and hugged her for long minutes. 

Ziva was too tired and overwhelmed to go to the hospital and facing another argument with Tony was above her strength. She went back to her apartment to get a few hours of sleep. As she walked out of the shower she heard someone knocking on her door. She opened and found Tony:  
“Tony what are you doing here ?”  
He walked inside:   
“You did not come back”  
Ziva sighed and struck the back of her neck:   
“Yes, I wanted to be alone”   
“And I don’t want you to be alone after that. How did it go ?”  
Ziva took a moment before answering:   
“It went well. I suppose”   
“What did you two talk about ?”  
Ziva was more than tense, she sighed again:   
“Tony, if this is another one of your jealousy crisis, I…”   
Tony cupped her face to cut her off and said:   
“Hey..” he locked his eyes into hers “I’m worried”   
Ziva looked deeply into his eyes and the only thing she could see was love and worry. She said:   
“I’m sorry. It’s just…we talked about Ari”   
Tony looked confused:  
“Ari ? Why ?”   
Ziva took a moment to think. This could break something between them. She had lied about this for years but she had to get rid of the past to move forward:  
“I killed him, not Gibbs”   
Tony felt as if he was shot again. He pulled her to him and hugged her tight for long minutes. He whispered:   
“I’m so sorry”   
A tear rolled down her eye. Now everything was clearer. If someone could understand Dan, it’s her. They walked to the couch and talked. Tony needed to understand why she had kept this from him for so many years. Ziva said:   
“You were not trusting me Tony. I already was the sister of the terrorist who killed your partner. I could not afford to be the girl who kills her own relatives. It would have changed everything”   
“I guess we’ll never know. Talk to me about him”   
“Ari? He was very protective with me and Tali. Maybe too protective sometimes. He loved riding his motorcycle. He was picking me up after class and he was taking me on a tour around the city. Every week he was bringing me a new book. He loved reading. He taught me everything about William Faulkner and Hemingway”   
Ziva kept talking about her brother with sparkles in her eyes. 

Tony and Ziva were cuddled up together on the couch. Tony was slowly caressing Ziva’s hair:  
“I hate when you are angry at me”   
“I was not angry”   
“Your body was saying otherwise”   
Ziva straightened and asked:   
“Really ? And what’s my body saying right now ?”  
“That you wanna have sex with me”   
Ziva chuckled and rolled her eyes. She tilted her head and said:   
“You really suck at reading me”   
Tony tilted his head, his lips almost touching Ziva’s and said with his million dollar cocky smile:  
“Do I ?”   
Tony grabbed Ziva’s face and pulled her to him. He started kissing and nibbling the crook of her neck. Ziva moaned:   
“This is not a good idea”  
“Again, that’s not what your body is telling me”  
They kept kissing. Tony grabbed her leg and pulled her to him. Ziva straddled him, Tony felt some pressure on his wound and groaned. Ziva panicked:   
“Oh my god Tony I’m sorry. This is a bad idea”  
She tried to stand off his lap but Tony caught her:  
“I’m fine. Just..”  
Ziva kissed him and said:   
“Let’s take it slow. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up on this once you are feeling better”   
“I’m looking forward to it”   
Tony kissed her passionately and let his hands wander under her shirt, obviously not taking her wise word seriously. Ziva moaned and said:   
“Agent DiNozzo don’t force me to tie you up”   
Tony smirked:   
“If this was supposed to make me less aroused, let me tell you that you failed”  
“Is there even something that I can tell you right now that is not going to turn you on ?”  
“Absolutely nothing..”  
“Let me try…”  
Tony cut her off by grabbing her neck and pushing her on the couch. He kissed her even more passionately to stop her from talking. Ziva laughed. He looked at her for a moment. He knew that this was not the cleverest idea but seeing her laugh was everything to him. He also knew that he almost died a few days ago. His decision was quickly made, his wound was the least of his concern right now. 

Tony was awakened by the sound of Ziva's whispers on the phone. She was sitting on the bed, her naked body wrapped in the white bed sheets, with her hair falling down her back:   
“No Abby, he’s fine. Yes. He’s asleep right now. I’m sorry we got you scared. I’ll bring him back later, don’t worry”   
She hung up the phone and felt the soft touch of Tony’s fingers on her bare back. Ziva said:   
“Apparently a patient of the hospital escaped last night..”  
“Really ? Well he must have had a good reason for that”   
Tony pulled Ziva to him for a sweet and tender kiss. Ziva cuddled up to his side and stroked his wound. She asked:   
“Did it hurt last night ?”  
“Yes, but not enough to make me regret what we did or to make me not wanna do it again”   
Tony leaned over Ziva and she realized that his body was very hot and this was not due to his current state of arousal:   
“Tony, you still have fever”  
“Yeah that’s the Ziva David fever and it’s not curable”  
“I’m being serious Tony. I have to get you back to the hospital” 

Later.  
Tony and Ziva were welcomed by the judging eyes of the nurse. Tony started:  
“Did my favorite nurse miss me ?”  
The nurse rolled her eyes as she helped him get back in bed. Tony continued:   
“I know you are secretly in love with me, there’s no need to hide it anymore”  
The nurse asked Ziva:   
“Does he always think that every woman is in love with him ?”  
“Most of the time yes”   
Tony moaned as the nurse checked his wound:  
“You are not the best to talk about this Zee-vah ! You fell in love with me the first time your eyes laid on me”  
Ziva chuckle and said:   
“You had me at hello”   
“And now she’s quoting a movie. Jerry Maguire. Tom Cruise, Renée Zellweger, 1996. See, that’s why there’s nothing possible between you and me Nurse Williams. My heart is already taken”  
The nurse took Tony’s temperature and said:   
“Your temperature is still a bit too high. Looks like you’ve got yourself another day under my intensive care mister DiNozzo”   
Tony smiled and shouted as the nurse exited:   
“Another day in paradise. Great song from Phil Collins. You should add it to the list I already gave you”

The next day - In the bullpen  
Gibbs was finishing his report while Eli and Senior were both sitting at their children’s respective desks. They were talking about Tony and Ziva.  
Senior said:   
“Your daughter is a blessing. I was starting to think that my Tony was a lost cause and he would never find the one”   
Eli chuckled:   
“My daughter has always been a sucker for desperate case”   
With that Eli remembered:  
“When she was young she was always bringing wounded animals home. It was driving her mother crazy. One day she came home with a small bird, which obviously fell out from its nest. We told her that there was nothing she could do for him, that she had to let nature take its course but she refused. She looked at me and her mother and she said ‘he’s still alive, there’s always a chance’ and with that she started to read everything about birds. She took care of him everyday. She was feeding him, keeping him warm until it was strong enough to fly. One day she came home after school and the bird was gone. It broke her heart that she did not have time to say goodbye to him but she was happy because she had made a difference in someone’s life, even if it was just a bird”  
Eli chuckled:   
“Even nature is not strong enough to fight my daughter’s stubbornness”   
Gibbs smiled. That’s the Ziva he knew. Stubborn and determined.   
Senior said:   
“That’s exactly what my son needs, a woman with character. They will make beautiful children”  
The elevator dinged and Tony and Ziva entered the bullpen. Abby rushed to them and jumped at Tony’s neck:   
“You’re home !”  
Tony moaned:   
“Easy Abs”  
Tony noticed his father and Eli laughing and asked worriedly:   
“What’s this about ?”  
Senior said:   
“Oh Junior, we were just talking about you and Ziva and how beautiful your children will be”   
Tony awkward glanced at Ziva and sighed:   
“Thank you dad that’s very embarrassing”   
Tony sighed:  
“Sorry about that. My father knows how to make things awkward”  
Ziva chuckled:  
“It’s ok”   
Senior smiled and said:   
“Eli and I agreed that it’s how we want to enjoy our retirement. By spending time with our grandchildren”   
Tony said:   
“Ok enough, now you’re making me nervous ”

Ziva let Tony argue with his father and walked to her father who was now standing a few feet away from everyone. She asked:   
“Retirement ?”  
Eli smiled. He knew it had caught his daughter’s attention. He said:   
“Yes. I think I did my time in that office. It’s time for me to let other people do that job. I have a big house but it is filled with silence. I want it to be filled with joy and laughter again. Do you think it will happen someday ?”  
By this, he was asking his daughter if she would agree to give him a chance. To let him be a part of her life again. Ziva smiled and hugged her father. He wrapped his arms around her and let a sigh of relief escape. Eli looked at Tony, who was still trying to make his father stop talking in vain and said to Ziva:   
“I should have trusted you. He’s a good man”  
Ziva smiled with her watery eyes.   
And with that they walked back to the team.   
Senior was saying:

“Did I tell you that, when Junior was 14, he stole my car to go to the fun fair with his friends ?”  
Tony complained:   
“Ok enough dad, I’m sure they don’t want to hear about those old stories”   
Ziva chuckled and said:  
“Yes we do”  
Senior continued:  
“His plan was perfect until the moment he lost the car key and had to call me in the middle of the night. You should have seen his face when I arrived in the parking lot”   
Abby asked:   
“What happened next ?”  
Tony sighed:   
“My butt still hurts everytime I see a Ferris Wheel” 

It was now time for everyone to go home. Eli walked to Tony and shook his hand:  
“Agent DiNozzo, I’m happy to see you back on your feet”  
“Thank you Director”   
“I’ll have to leave soon, but I could not go without telling you how thankful I am that you saved my daughter’s life”  
“I got her back. She would have done the same for me”  
“I entrust you with her, agent DiNozzo. I’m sure my daughter is in good hands with you. Take care of her, she’s my last child and the most precious thing I have left on this earth”  
“I will sir”  
Eli pulled Tony to him and whispered on his ear:   
“And next time, keep your pants on until you are sure that nobody else is home”  
“Copy that”

Senior walked to Tony and gave him a little box. Tony opened it and his eyes widened. In that box he saw a golden signet ring with a diamond and the DiNozzo’s family coat of arms engraved on it. Tony was speechless. He had seen this ring when he was a child but he had never been allowed to touch it and even less to wear it. Every man in the DiNozzo family was wearing one during family reunions and Tony knew back then, that you had to earn the right to wear it. Senior said:  
“This belonged to your grandfather ‘Antonio DiNozzo’ and his father before him. DiNozzo’s men have been bequeathing this ring for generations. I think it’s time for you to have it”  
“Dad..”  
“Take it. You deserve it. I’m proud of you son. And I hope that you’ll soon pass it to the next generation of DiNozzos. It’s a better legacy than your abilities to borrow cars isn’t it ?”  
Tony was not taking his eyes off the ring. Senior said:   
“I’ve always been proud of you son. I know I’ve never really expressed it but I want you to know that I love you Junior”   
Tony hugged his father and said:   
“I love you dad”  
Senior reached into his pocket and took a little velvet pouch:   
“I have something else for you”   
He discretely gave it to Tony. He opened it and this time he discovered a diamond ring. Senior said:   
“It was your mother’s. I am sure one day, you’ll make good use of it”   
They both looked at Ziva who was talking with Gibbs and Abby. Tony smiled at the idea that one day he would put this ring on Ziva’s finger. He pictured Ziva in a white dress walking down the aisle. It was one of the most beautiful and touching gifts he had ever received. Tony said:   
“Thank you dad.. for everything”   
As they hugged each other again Ziva looked at them and she smiled. They had been through hell during the last few days but it also brought them all together. In their darkest time, family was their light at the end of the tunnel. 

A few days later  
Tony and Ziva were having lunch in the break room. Behind them, separated by a screen, were 2 young NCIS agents who obviously had not noticed them. They were talking about recent drama in the NAVY Yard:   
“Yeah, you’ve heard about what happened to DiNozzo from MCRT ?”   
Tony pricked up his ears.   
“The guy who talks about movies all the time and who walks like a cowboy ? No what happened ?”  
Tony winced, Ziva refrain herself from laughing.   
“He got shot ?”  
“No way ! What happened ?”  
“Apparently some dude showed up at his girlfriend’s place and shot him. It was her ex or something”  
“Damn! I didn’t even know he had a girlfriend, he is always flirting with all the girls and bragging about how many girls he had slept with”   
Ziva frowned.   
“Apparently he dates his co-worker”  
”Wait! The chick with the amazing ass? The Israeli? ”  
Tony’s jaw clenched, he was clearly about to lose control.   
“Yes sir !”   
“Damn ! That girl is scary but in a hot way. For real she can torture me as much as she wants.. my body is all hers”   
Tony was about to stand up when Ziva stopped him. She winked and stood up. She walked around the screen, opened her knife and planted it on the table right between the fingers of one of the men. The poor man looked at the blade of the knife almost touching his finger and stammered something. Ziva stopped him:  
“Sh..sh…sh…Remember me ? The ‘chick with the amazing ass’. I would be very happy to ‘take care of your body’ in a close quarter combat. Let’s say tomorrow, 8 o’clock ?”   
The younger stammered:   
“We’re sorry Ma’am, we didn’t mean to..”  
Tony joined them from behind and said:   
“Don't call her Ma'am and never apologize, it’s a sign of weakness. You should write this one down: never talk about a woman like that, especially when she has a knife”   
They both grabbed their stuff and said as they walked away:   
“Won’t happen again..”  
Tony and Ziva smirked and looked at them running away. Tony said:   
“I think they wet their pants”   
“They sure did”   
They walked back to the bullpen as Tony said:   
“I have to say that this was pretty sexy”

The same day at night. Ziva walked into the bullpen in a burgundy cocktail dress that was perfectly fitting to her body shape. McGee was speechless. He stammered as she walked past his desk:   
“Wow Ziva. You look stunning in that dress”   
Ziva smiled:   
“Thank you McGee.  
“What’s the occasion ?”  
“Tony is taking me on a date tonight”   
Tony walked in too, wearing a black suit and holding a bunch of flowers. He said:   
“Close your mouth McOggling you are drooling all over your keyboard” He turned to Ziva and said:   
“I won’t blame him, you look amazing in that dress.” He held the flowers and said: “for you”   
Ziva was surprised, she looked at the bouquet and said:   
“Tony, they are beautiful”  
Tony grabbed her waist and said:   
“Not as much as you.”  
He bit his lip:   
“It’s gonna be hard for me not to skip dinner”   
Behind them McGee grabbed his bag and grumbled:   
“Oh please can you at least wait till I’m gone”   
As he walked past them Tony said:  
“Jealousy does not look good on you, McGrumbling”  
Tony focused back on Ziva and said:   
“Are you ready ?”  
“Yes”   
They walked to the elevator. Tony looked at Ziva walking in front of him and bit his lip, clearly very interested by the view. He asked:   
“Are you really sure that you are hungry ?”   
Ziva laughed as she entered the elevator and said:   
“We had an agreement Tony. This time we do things right, like normal people”   
Tiny winced:   
“Normal people scare me. I don’t want to be a normal guy”  
Ziva chuckled:   
“You’re safe… trust me” 

Tony had planned the most romantic date. Dinner at a restaurant by the lake, flowers, great wine, and they were now dancing under the stars. Those things that they have both never done before. Ziva was completely discovering this new side of Tony’s personality. A side she had never really imagined. They were dancing slowly, forgetting about everything and everyone around them. It was just them and the reflection of the moon on the lake. Ziva’s eyes were lost on Tony’s. Tony searched through his pocket and said:   
“I have something for you… Don't freak out. Even though this would be a hell of a way to propose to you, this is not what I’m doing… yet”  
Ziva smiled. She didn’t really know if she was relieved or disappointed. Tony took something out from his pocket. Ziva’s necklace. Ziva was shocked:   
“How did you get it ? I thought it was sealed into evidence ?”  
Tony proudly said:  
“Well, I am a Senior field agent with a lot of influence..I pulled some strings”  
Ziva looked at him with questioning eyes. Tony said:   
“Let’s say that Agent Sacks couldn’t refuse me this little favor”   
“You went to ask a favor to the man you hate the most to get my necklace back? That’s probably the sweetest thing anyone ever did for me”   
“You mean after taking a bullet for you, right ?”  
Ziva shrugged and nonchalantly said:   
“Oh yes that too..I almost forgot”   
And she smirked. Tony smiled and kissed her. He loved those moments when they were teasing each other. Ziva tried to put the necklace around her neck but Tony stopped her:  
“Wait. I have something else for you”   
He took the necklace back and slipped a small pendant with a small diamond on it. Ziva looked at him with confusion. Tony said:   
“I know how important this necklace is for you. It symbolizes your sister and your past. I would like this to symbolize your future, with me and my promise to you. A promise that I will always have your back, no matter what. This is my way of telling you…that I love you very very much Ziva David”   
Ziva looked at the necklace and felt some tears rising up. She wrapped her arms around Tony’s neck and kissed him passionately. That man was completely changing her definition of being loved.


	8. Chapter 8

The case about La Grenouille had been terminated for a few months now. Tony and Ziva were slowly discovering what it was like to be engaged in a serious relationship. The team was experiencing a long dry spell in terms of interesting cases. 

8am. ⠀  
Tony was looking at McGee’s empty desk:⠀  
“Don’t you think we should be worried ? I mean our Mister McTwisp is never late”  
Ziva squinted her eyes:  
“Mister who ?”  
“McTwisp? Nivins McTwisp ? Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton, Johnny Depp ?”  
“Ohhh he’s the pirate right ? We’ve talked about him before”   
Tony let out a desperate sigh.   
Ziva walked to the filing cabinet next to Tony’s desk and said: ⠀  
“I don’t know about Johnny depp’s lateness but I’m happy about McGee’s”⠀  
Tony asked confusedly:   
“Why ?”  
“Because it means that his date went well”   
“Wait ! McSingle has a girlfriend ?”⠀  
“He has not told you about her ?”  
Tony fulminated:   
“No he did not !”  
“Well, she’s very pretty and funny” ⠀  
“How do you know ?”⠀  
“I met her. McGee wanted my opinion” ⠀  
“Why did he ask you? When it comes to women I’m the one he should be asking. I’m like a brother to him”⠀  
Ziva chuckled and said:⠀  
“Well I’m like a sister to him. Looks like my advice means more to him than yours” ⠀  
“You can’t be his sister”  
Ziva looked offended:⠀  
“And why is that ?”⠀  
“Because it would mean that I’m having sex with my sister which is disgusting. No you are more like...the hot neighbor who lives across the street”⠀  
“The neighbor? Why would I be the hot neighbor and you get to be the big brother ?”⠀  
“Because I’ve known McGee for a longer time than you”⠀  
“That does not prove anything!”⠀

McGee walked in with a confident and joyful smile and asked: ⠀  
“What doesn’t prove anything?”⠀  
Tony rushed to him and barked: ⠀  
“You McGee ! Why did you introduce your elf lady to Ziva and not to me ?”⠀  
McGee scowled at Ziva: ⠀  
“You’ve told him?”⠀  
“Don’t change the subject, Mcsecrets. You have to tell us, whose opinion is the most important to you ? Mine or Ziva’s ?”⠀  
McGee hesitated: ⠀  
“To be honest Abby’s but she can’t be trusted, she hates all my girlfriends”⠀  
Tony laughed: ⠀  
“Listen to him ‘all my girlfriends’. Calm down, McDonJuan. Alright then who’s your second favorite confident ?” ⠀  
McGee looked at both of his coworkers ready to make his choice when Gibbs rushed in and barked:  
“Grab your gear! Dead body in Anacostia”  
McGee let out a sigh of relief and grabbed his gear. On their way to the elevator Tony said:   
“Don’t you think that you’re gonna get out of this so easily McSavedbythebell”   
⠀

2

10 minutes later, the team arrived at the crime scene. Tony stepped out of the car and said:   
“I still don’t understand why you did not pick me to meet your girlfriend probie”   
McGee sighed. Tony have been arguing about this during the entire car ride:   
“That’s exactly why ! You always make a big deal of everything. It was just a lunch, nothing fancy, ok and I did not ask you because there were strong chances that you would try to flirt with her.” 

Tony fainted to be hurt and said:   
“Ok first, that’s what brothers do and second, now I’m a taken man. I don’t flirt with other women”⠀  
Ziva sniggered at his obvious lie.   
McGee turned to Gibbs and asked:   
“Please boss can I get back to the Navy Yard with Ducky and Palmer when we are done? I don’t think I can survive another car ride with him”   
Gibbs took a sip of coffee and walked inside the house with Ziva without answering.  
Inside, they discovered the crime scene. In the middle of the living room, lying on the ground was the body of a woman. The room was completely upside down. Gibbs gave his instructions. McGee was questioning the man who found the body. Tony was taking pictures and Ziva was going through the house to find some evidence. 

She walked through the corridor when her attention was caught by a quick noise. She first thought that it was coming from outside. A lot of people were gathered on the street, hoping that they could get a glimpse at a gory scene to feed their social media pages. She proceeded through the corridor. Another noise. This time she knew it was coming from inside the house. She put her hand on her SIG, ready to take it out, just in case. She shouted:   
“Gibbs! You said the officers cleared the house before calling us right ?”   
“Yes”  
She entered the master bedroom. Another sound. She took her gun out and walked to the closet. She swung the closet open, aimed her gun and what she saw, was something she was not expecting. She yelled:   
“Gibbs. We have a problem here” 

3

Gibbs and Tony rushed to the master bedroom. They froze as they saw Ziva holding a baby in her arms. Tony swallowed hard and said:   
“Well, congratulation”   
The sounds of Gibbs’ heavy hand on Tony’s head broke the silence that followed his joke. Tony moaned:  
“Sorry”  
Ziva ignored him and said:   
“He was hidden in the closet. Maybe that’s what they were after”   
Tony sceptically said:  
“They could have easily found him in this closet. You think they have been disturbed ?”   
Gibbs looked at the little boy and said:   
“We’re gonna have to find out. Until then, you stay with him at all times, understood ?”  
Ziva nodded. Gibbs and Ziva turned to Tony. His non-responsiveness made Ziva raise an eyebrow. Tony’s eyes went from Gibbs to Ziva to the baby and then back to Gibbs. He was obviously not getting Gibbs’ point. He suddenly gasped:   
“Oh you mean ‘you’, like ‘us’.. like me and Ziva.. great of course boss…”  
Gibbs rolled his eyes and walked out of the room while Tony continued:   
“Of course I’m gonna take care of a baby who does not know me and everything’s gonna be fine…”  
He whispered:  
“babysitting, that’s absolutely what I’m trained to do…”   
Tony turned to Ziva and awkwardly smiled:   
“How about you take care of the baby and I make sure that nobody is trying to kill us…”  
Ziva chuckled:  
“What’s wrong Tony ? Are you scared of a toddler ?”   
He sneered:   
“Me ? Scared ? Never, I just feel like it’s not a good idea to impose such a strong male figure to that poor kid. I don’t want him to reject his father after he met me.. and for the record, nothing scares me David..”  
Ziva looked at him with a smirk and said:   
“Really ?”  
“Yes”  
Gibbs’ voice suddenly shouted:   
“DINOZZO!!!”  
Tony jumped and ran to the living room:  
“on my way boss…”

4

Bullpen.

The team was busy doing some research. Ziva was typing on her computer with Mason, the victim’s kid on her lap. Tony was lost in his thoughts. He had been staring at Ziva for long minutes. That kid had known her for less than 3 hours but he was already under her charm. And he was not to be blamed. Tony cracked a faint smile as he saw the 1 year old boy banging on her keyboard with his chubby hands. He had been doing that for the last 10 minutes and Tony was amazed by how patient Ziva had been. She was not even showing a glimpse of annoyment and Tony knew that if he had dared to make half of this, she would have already choked him with her keyboard’s power cord. He could not deny that this vision was stimulating his desire to see her doing the same with his child someday. Ziva raised her eyes to him and Tony nervously looked away. It was as if she was reading his thoughts. Ziva smiled and looked back at her screens. 

This peaceful scene was soon disturbed by Gibbs who rushed in and barked:   
“Talk to me”   
McGee and Tony gathered with their boss around the plasma screen while Ziva settled Mason in his baby seat. 

McGee started:   
“Helen Smith, 34, married to first lieutenant Michael Smith. About a year ago Mrs Smith gave birth to their son, Mason, at home while her husband was deployed in Afghanistan.”

Tony grabbed the remote and continued:   
“No family on both sides, no enemies. Their neighbors describes them as very happy and friendly people” 

A long silence followed.  
Gibbs looked at his agents with dissatisfied eyes:   
“That’s it ? That’s all you got ?” 

McGee and Tony shared a panicked look. Ziva intervene and took the remote out of Tony’s hand:   
“I have something. I’ve checked their bank account and I’ve discovered this. More than a year ago, Mrs Smith opened an account and placed 50.000$ on it. That money was withdrawn in cash right before Mason’s birth”

Tony doubtfully said:   
“So what ? You need money to raise a kid. Maybe they bought a new car or something”  
“According to their neighbors, they have been driving the same car since 2015”  
Tony was about to retort but Ziva cut him off:  
“And they haven’t done any work on the house before or after Mason was born. Since then, no sign of that money”

Gibbs took a second to think barked as he walked out:  
“Ziva! With me!”

Ziva rushed to her desk, grabbed Mason and walked to Tony. He worriedly looked at her coming toward him. She held the kid to him and before he had time to complain Mason was now on his arms and Ziva was running upstairs.

5

Tony looked at the baby and winced. He walked to McGee’s desk and said:   
“Here! Take him” 

McGee shook his head:  
“Nope”  
“Please McNanny you gotta have my back on this”   
“She entrusted you with him, not me”   
“Me and you.. Whatever.. We are like brothers, remember ?”   
McGee chuckled:   
“When it suits you. Sorry, I’m busy here, doing grown up stuff” 

Tony winced and walked back to his desk. He sat Mason on his lap to imitate Ziva’s technique and tried to work normally. Mason started to grab everything within his reach:  
“No, don’t touch that… No that’s my stapler you can not have it. You have to earn it”  
Tony grabbed his Mighty Mouse stapler back and threw it inside his drawer. Mason started to whine and soon to weep. The whole bullpen turned to see what was going on in Gibbs’ team. 

Tony panicked under the amused eyes of his coworker:   
“No, no, no, don’t cry, don’t cry...Sh…Sh.. it’s ok” 

But nothing worked. Tony looked desperately at McGee:  
“What should I do ?”  
McGee smirked and said:  
“Improvise. I’m sure you’ll find a solution”   
“Thank you McGee… very helpful…”

Tony stood up, walked to Ziva’s desk and grumbled:   
“improvise, improvise… what would Ziva do ?”  
He searched through Mason’s go bag and found a pacifier, a cuddly toy and a rattle but none of these were soothing Mason’s anger. 

“Come on! You got to help me on this buddy.. sh..sh…”  
Tony placed him against his chest and rubbed his back. After a few pat on the back, a burping sound raised from the baby and an uncontrollable gasp from McGee. 

Tony turned to him and asked:   
“Tell me he did not just do what I think he did”   
McGee looked at the regurgitation stain on Tony’s expensive suit and said:   
“he did” 

Tony sighed and looked at the smiling and now relieved baby in his arms:  
“This is going to be a long day” 

6

MTAC

On the giant screen of the room, was displayed a live transmission of Helen’s husband. He was looking devastated by the news of his wife’s death.

A sand storm was hitting the region and was forcing him to stay on the base for a few days until planes were allowed to take off again. 

Gibbs’ introduced Ziva:   
“This is special agent David, she’s taking care of your son until social services takes over”   
“I wish I could be there. Tell him that his daddy loves him so much” 

Gibbs continued:   
“Do you know who could have done this ?”  
“No sir” 

Ziva asked:   
“Did your wife have a personal bank account ?”   
“No Ma’am. Only our joint bank account” 

Gibbs and Ziva quickly glanced at each other and then focused back on the NAVY lieutenant. Gibbs thanked him and renewed his condoleances. 

On their way back to the bullpen Ziva asked to Gibbs:   
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking ?”  
Gibbs took a moment before answering and then said:   
“Take the kid to Abby and do a DNA test”   
And he walked away. 

Ziva walked back to her desk and stopped by Tony’s desk, surprised not to hear Mason cry. She looked at Tony and discovered the little boy on his lap. She smiled until she realized that Mason was playing with Tony’s stapler. Her smile completely fainted:   
“Tell me it’s not your stapler ?” 

Tony looked at her and innocently said:   
“Yes it is, why ? He cried when I tried to take it away from him”

Ziva grabbed the baby and said:   
“Are you out of your mind ? This is not a toy for a baby”   
“Actually, I tried to swap it with my SIG but he prefers my stapler.” He smirked and continued: “Relax mamma bear, I took the staples out before I gave it back to him” He chuckled: “Like, I would let a baby play with a loaded stapler. See nothing happened to him. So what happened up there ?”   
“I have to take him to Abby to take a DNA test”   
“Wow wait, why ? Do you think this baby is not his ?”  
Ziva hesitated then said:   
“I think this baby is not theirs at all”  
McGee confusedly asked:   
“You think this could be the motive?”  
“Her husband was aways during her pregnancy, she gave birth at home with no witness, she withdrew 50.000$ right before he was born. I really hope that I’m wrong but that’s a lot of coincidence. 

Tony said:   
“And you know what Gibbs thinks about coincidence”

7

Ziva was standing in the elevator with Mason on her arms and Tony by her side. He could clearly see that she had a lump in her throat but he didn’t know if it was only the expression of her maternal instinct or something deeper. He did not dare to ask.   
The elevator dinged and they walked out to get to Abby’s lab. Tony walked in first to stop the gothic’s loud music.   
Tony yelled:   
“ABBY! ABS!” 

Abby jumped and pressed pause.  
Tony sighed:  
“thank you” 

Ziva walked in and introduced Mason to the scientist and said:   
“We need a DNA test. We need to know if his DNA matches the victim’s DNA” 

Abby put on some gloves, grabbed a swab and said:   
“I have to put this in his mouth for at least one minute”  
The little boy was already struggling. Ziva settle the boy on Abby’s desk and whispered to the boy:  
“Look Mason, this is Abby. She’s my friend. She’s not gonna hurt you I promise. She has to put this in your mouth and you have to stay really still” 

Tony grabbed a swab and put it into his own mouth.   
“Look. See.. Not painful” 

Ziva smiled, touched that Tony might involve himself in the process. She noticed Mason’s anxiety:   
“Do you want me to sing you a song ?” 

The little boy nodded. Ziva took him back in her arms and Mason placed his head against her chest. She started to hum a lullaby and rocked him to soothe his fears. 

That’s the moment Tony’s fears disappeared too. He wanted to have kids and he wanted to have kids with her. 

Abby put the swab in Mason’s mouth. Ziva felt him tense his body but he soon relaxed as he felt no pain. 

The DNA tests were done and Mason was already falling asleep in Ziva's arms.   
Ziva was walking through the lab away from Tony and Abby. 

Abby glanced at her and whispered to Tony:   
“I’ve never seen her like that before”   
“I know”   
“She’s so…”  
“Not Ziva ?”  
“Yes! But in a good way” 

Tony looked at Ziva, rocking this kid to sleep. He knew this kid meant so much more to her than any other victim.  
He said:   
“She has changed. We both did” 

8

McGee was doing some research on his computer while Ziva was busy trying to take care of the baby. Ziva stood up, grabbed Mason’s go bag and walked to Tony’s desk with a wide smile. McGee frowned:  
“What are you doing ?”   
She settled Mason on Tony’s desk and innocently said:   
“His diaper needs to be changed”  
McGee smiled and said:   
“He’s not gonna like this”  
Ziva smiled and said:   
“I know” 

A moment later, Tony walked out of the elevator and took a bite in his sandwich as he walked to his desk. He froze as he saw Ziva. He ran to his desk and asked:   
“What are you doing to my desk”  
“I’m changing him”   
“Yes ! I can see that ! And why are you doing this on MY desk ?”  
Ziva shrugged:  
“My desk is too cluttered”  
Tony glanced at her desk. There was obviously enough space on her desk to lay the kid. Tony scoffed:   
“Alright then you won’t mind if I use your desk to eat my sandwich”   
Ziva scowled. Tony was always leaving trails of breadcrumbs everywhere when he was eating sandwiches. He sat at her desk and threw her a defying look. She challenged him with her dark eyes while taking the dirty diaper off.   
A drop of sauce fell from Tony’s sandwich and landed on Ziva’s desk. Tony looked at the greasy drop and slowly leveled his sorry gaze to his now scowling partner. She raised her hand with the diaper in it, ready to throw it on Tony. He only had time to beg her before the diaper flew through the open space and crashed on his suit. Tony gasped, winced, moaned and desperately looked at his suit. Strangely, no foul smell has reached his nose yet. Tony carefully grabbed the diaper with two fingers and lifted it. Empty. A strong feeling of relief traveled through his body but was quickly replaced by annoyance as he heard Ziva laughing:  
“You should have seen your face”  
“Ha ha! Very funny, really !” 

Tony was about to start a long monologue when a woman appeared. The three agents stared at her for a moment before she finally decided to introduce herself:  
“Hi. I’m Susan Mitchell. Social services sent me. This must be Mason right ?”   
Tony confirmed but he noticed that Ziva was staying very quiet, she barely greeted the woman. 

9

Gibbs rushed in and cut short to the courtesies. He threw his keys to Tony:   
“Tony, Ziva. Take Mrs Mitchell and Mason to my place. You stay there and you keep your eyes on him” 

Mrs Mitchell walked to Gibb’s desk and said:   
“You must be agent Gibbs. I’m Susan Mitchell, I…”  
“work for the social services yes I know”   
And Gibbs left the room again. 

Susan stood, mouth agape in front of Gibbs’ desk until Tony asked her to follow him to the elevator. On their way she asked:   
“Is he always so welcoming with strangers ?”  
Tony and Ziva walked inside the elevator and Tony said before the door closed:   
“Only with the people he likes”


	9. Chapter 9

Gibbs’ place:

Ziva was alone with Susan. On the couch, Susan was playing with Mason. Ziva was not taking her eyes off them. Susan took a book out of her bag and held it to Mason. She asked:  
“Do you want to read a story ?”   
Mason grabbed the book, took a look at it and jumped down the couch. He walked to Ziva with the book and held it to her. She smiled and took him on her laps:  
“You want me to read it ? Alright”

She started reading the book when Susan asked:   
“Do you have kids, Agent David ?”  
Ziva swallowed hard and with a lump in her throat said:   
“I don’t”   
“I’m sorry it was a totally inappropriate question”   
“No, don’t worry. It’s just… complicated”  
“You have a strong maternal instinct, I can’t deny that”   
Ziva smiled and resumed her reading. 

In the room next door Tony had not missed a second of the scene. She knew that the ghost of her miscarriage was still there somewhere and he knew that she was still blaming herself for what happened. His phone rang and made him jump. He walked away and answered it:   
“DiNozzo...Yes… Nothing to report here.. Yes… ok boss… I’ll let Ziva know”   
Tony hung up and walked to the living room. He turned to Susan and said:   
“Can you give us a minute” 

Susan walked away and Tony continued:  
“The results came back. No matches between the victim’s DNA and Mason…There’s no way she was his biological mother”  
Ziva stayed quiet, still processing the information:   
“What about Lieutenant Smith ?”  
Tony took a moment before answering:   
“No matches either…” 

Tony paused again before asking:   
“You think that’s why she was killed ?”  
Ziva glanced at Mason, innocently playing on the rug and said:   
“There are strong chances that she used the money to buy this baby. Maybe the biological mother changed her mind”  
“Or the father”   
A long silence filled the room.

10 

Tony stared at Ziva for a long moment until he finally dared to say:  
“You never talk about it”   
“about what ?”  
He let a long moment of silence pass before daring to say:  
“Our baby” 

The words were out and they were more painful than he had expected. It was the first time he was actually saying them out loud. A baby. Half of him, half of her. Their baby, they had both lost. 

Ziva rubbed her face and sighed:   
“What is there to talk about Tony”

She nervously jumped off the couch but before she could walk out of the room Tony said:  
“See ! That’s what I’m talking about. You act like nothing ever happened. I know this is your way of protecting yourself, to lock things up and never talk about them, but I’m not like you Ziva. I need to talk about those things” 

Ziva burst out:   
“You think that I don’t care about this. You think that because I don’t talk about this it means that I got over it ? Everyday I wake up and I feel like something is not right, I feel like a part of me has been taken away from me by someone who did not have this right and I haven’t had the chance to take revenge on that person. I haven’t been good enough to protect this child and I haven’t been good enough to avenge it !”

She was out of breath. She had put all her feelings and anger in it.   
That was more than Tony expected. That’s why she cared so much about this baby. He was the embodiment of the loss that was still burning inside of her heart. Protecting him was her way of gathering the pieces of her heart and putting them back together.

Tony’s voice soften as he cupped her cheeks:   
“I know that you care. That’s not what I meant. You have to let me help you Ziva. It’s the only way we can move forward”   
“I’m not sure I can”   
Tony pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. He held her tightly and whispered:   
“Of course you can. You are the strongest woman I’ve ever met. If someone can, it’s you. And you’re not alone, I’m here Ziva, you don’t have to carry this weight on your shoulders, I can be strong for both of us sometimes. Just lean on me when you feel like you need to” 

Tony cupped her face again and added ‘please’, followed by his most charming smile. 

A faint smile appeared on Ziva’s face:  
“I’ll try” 

And they resumed their hug. 

Mason walked to them and wrapped his arms around their legs. Tony and Ziva looked down, surprised to feel his tiny hands on them and shared an amused look. 

11

The sun was long gone when Ziva ended her conversation with Gibbs on the phone. The investigation was going nowhere. She walked in and looked for Tony inside the house. She found him in the basement. She discreetly looked at them from the top of the stairs. Tony was giving a tour of Gibbs’ basement to Mason. He was holding the little boy in his arms:  
“See, that’s a boat. It floats on the ocean. Do you know what else is on the sea ? Fishes. Do you know what fishes look like ?”  
Mason looked at Tony very intrigued and eager to know more about fishes. Tony puffed out his cheeks and opened his eyes wide to imitate a fish. Mason burst out laughing, more because of Tony’s silly face than because of his convincing imitation. 

Ziva let a little giggle escape as she saw them enjoying each other’s company. For a man scared of kids, Tony seemed pretty gifted. 

He noticed her still on top of the stairs and cleared his throat out of embarrassment:  
“hm.. hey. Didn’t know you were there. What’s up with the bossman ?”

Ziva walked down the stairs and said:   
“Not much. They are still trying to find his biological mother” 

Mason held his arms to Ziva as he saw her walk to him. Tony chuckled and let him get into Ziva’s arms:  
“That kid really likes you. Hold your horses little man, I’ve met her first, she’s mine”   
Ziva chuckled:  
“you two surely have a lot in common… Same intellectual capacities, same lack of concentration, same passion for food and surely same charming smile”   
Tony’s frown turned into a wide grin as she finished her sentence:  
“That’s our thing.. we are irresistible” 

Ziva looked at Mason and said:  
“he’s so young and his life is already shattered”  
“He still has his father and a life before him to pick up the pieces”   
“She might not have been his mother but she gave her life to protect him”  
“That’s what you do for the people you love” 

They both shared an intense look in remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice that Tony had almost done a few months ago. 

He soon added:  
“I’m sure she would do the exact same thing again if she had to” 

Ziva gazed into Tony’s eyes. She knew he was no longer talking about the case. He was talking about her. He was talking about them and the sacrifices he was ready to make for her. 

This moment of pure oblivion was disturbed by a noise coming from the backyard. 

12

Tony and Ziva rushed upstairs. Ziva dropped Mason on Susan’s arms and said:   
“Quiet, stay inside” 

Her weapon in hand she walked out of the house by the front door while Tony used the back door. 

Tony called Gibbs and said:   
“We have a situation here… hold on” 

He walked to the backyard and searched with his flashlight through the darkness of the night. He shouted:   
“Anybody here ? Federal agents !” 

A silhouette suddenly started running away to the side of the house. Tony shouted:   
“HEY! STOP!” 

Tony ran after him when he heard the heavy sound of a body collapsing on the floor and moans. He knew that the trap had just closed on him. A trap named Ziva. When Tony appeared he saw Ziva leaning on the body of a young man, laying on the ground with a bleeding mouth and a terrorized face. Ziva was pointing her gun on the poor man’s neck. Tony walked to him and knelt next to his face. The young man begged:   
“Please don’t kill me! I won’t say anything! Please I swear!”  
Tony sighed and asked:   
“You won’t say anything about what ?”  
“I don’t know, Sir. Please, I’m only 17. I’m too young to die”   
Ziva shook him and asked:   
“Why would you die ?”   
Tony whispered:   
“I think that’s because you are pointing your gun on his neck Ziva”   
“Oh! I see. Why are you here ?”  
The teenager stammered:  
“I was just trying to go to my girlfriend’s house. I always sneak in by climbing over the fence. The old man who lives here… he never complained about it” 

Tony helped him get back on his feet and said:   
“Alright. If you really want to live a long and healthy life, here’s one tip: Don’t call the guy who lives here “the old man”, unless you run faster than a 9mm bullet, understood ?”  
“Yes sir” 

Tony’s phone rang. He picked it up and showed the screen to the boy:  
“The old man is calling, wanna say hi ?”  
He vigorously shook his head. Tony answered:  
“Hey boss. Yeah, nothing to worry about, it’s just Romeo who was trying to sneak into Juliet’s bed… yep.. on it”   
Tony hung up the phone and said:   
“all right, I have to take you back to your folks. Hop in the car Casanova”   
Tony led the young teenager to the car and winked at Ziva before going inside the car. 

13

A few minutes later in the bullpen.  
It was pretty late and the case was not moving forward. Gibbs told McGee to go home to get some sleep. McGee rubbed his face as he walked to the elevator. He was physically tired but most of all he was mentally exhausted. He hated cases with children involved. Gibbs was even more demanding and nervous. The door opened and a woman rushed out, obviously in a hurry. She crashed into McGee and apologized:  
“Oh I’m so sorry. I hope I did not hurt you”   
“No, of course not. Are you ok ?”  
“Yes, I’m looking for Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.Quite an uncommon name isn’t it. Do you know where I can find him?”  
McGee led her to Gibbs. She held her hand out before saying:   
“Hi, you must be waiting for me. I’m so sorry for being so late. There was a terrible misunderstanding at the agency, I...”  
Gibbs stopped her:   
“Who are you ?”   
The woman looked at them with surprised eyes and said:  
“I’m Linda Taylor, the social service sends me to look after Mason Smith, I thought you were aware of my assignment to your case”  
McGee stammered:  
“No.. that’s impossible. They already sent someone, Susan Mitchell”  
The woman looked even more astonished:  
“I’m afraid I don’t know any Susan Mitchell”   
McGee looked at Gibbs with dumbstrucked eyes and said:   
“Then if you are the social worker then... who’s with Tony and Ziva ?” 

Gibbs rushed to his phone and barked:   
“CALL TONY ! I CALL ZIVA” 

Linda asked worriedly:  
“Can you tell me what’s going on here ?”  
Gibbs did not answer. 

On the other desk McGee yelled on the phone:  
“NO TONY LISTEN TO ME YOU HAVE TO GO BACK! SUSAN IS NOT WHO SHE PRETENDS TO BE, SHE MIGHT BE THE KILLER !”

McGee winced as he heard the noise of screeching tires.   
Gibbs hung up, grabbed his gun and said:   
“You stay here, McGee, with me” 

14

Earlier on  
Tony started the car and drove away. Ziva walked back inside as she heard Mason’s crying. When she entered the living room she found Susan with Mason struggling and crying in her arms. She was desperately trying to soothe Mason’s anger, in vain. Ziva noticed the firearm that Susan was holding. She had obviously been waiting for Tony to leave to try to take Mason and leave. Ziva stood still and calmly asked:   
“Is this the gun you used to kill his mother ?”  
Susan froze and swallowed hard. She turned around and said:   
“You don’t know anything about what happened”  
“50.000$ was not enough ? You wanted more ?”  
“You don’t have kids, you have no idea what it’s like to have you child taken away from you”  
Ziva moved forward:   
“Mason was not taken away from you. You sold him. What happened ? You’ve changed your mind ?”  
Susan bursted out:  
“STOP MOVING ! YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING !!! I’m his mother ! Not her ? You should have seen her ! The perfect Christian with her perfect house, her perfect husband and her perfect life! I was living in the street ! I could not afford to raise this baby ! She came to me and she offered me money in exchange for my baby ! I was lost ! I didn’t know what else to do. A few days ago, I ran into them at the park. I walked to her and she acted like she didn’t know me. I gave her my baby and she treated me like a complete stranger. So I went to her house. I just wanted her to let me see him but she laughed in my face and she told me that I’ll never be his mother. She took her husband's gun and she threatened me with it ! I had no choice !”   
Ziva knew she could easily take Susan down. She was not a fighter, her hand which was holding the gun was shaking and she was not strong enough to fight Ziva. But Ziva was more worried about getting Mason hurt. He was crying louder and louder. He was slipping from her arms. Susan was getting more and more upset at him and distracted. She tried to adjust her grasp on him. Exactly the kind of distraction that Ziva was waiting for. As quick as lightning she hastened on her like an eagle on its prey and twisted her wrist. Susan moaned in pain and surprise and dropped her gun. 

A few moments later, the sound of sirens and tires screeching resonated in the street. Tony, Gibbs and McGee jumped out of the cars and rushed to the house, guns in hands. The house was quiet, too quiet. Gibbs rushed inside first, followed by his agents, all of them nervous to discover what had happened inside.   
They were surprised to find Ziva, calmly seated on the couch rocking Mason into sleep in her arms. She looked at them with a faint smile and raised her finger to her lips so they would not wake Mason’s up.   
Lying on the floor was Susan, a bleeding nose and her hands cuffed behind her back. Gibbs looked at Ziva with a smirk and she answered with the same grin. She was the only woman he knew who could easily rock a baby to sleep right after taking a murderer down. Tony and McGee looked at her with dumbstrucked eyes as they were lifting Susan back on her feet. Tony said to McGee:   
“Remind me to brief the nanny the day we have kids” 

15

Tony walked back from the interrogation room with a file in his hand and dropped it on Gibbs’ desk. At the same moment 2 NCIS agents walked through the bullpen with Susan to escort her in custody.   
Ziva asked:  
“Is it done ?”   
“Yes, she confessed everything. From selling her child to murdering Helen smith”   
Ziva rubbed her face. She was looking exhausted after 2 long days and a night of an intense investigation where she didn’t get enough sleep. Her eyes were lost in the void. Tony asked:  
“Are you ok ?”  
Ziva knew this question was coming:  
“yes of course”   
Tony gently rubbed her back and said:  
“Some case are more difficult than others”   
“I should have trusted my guts. I knew there was something wrong with her”   
“How did you know ?”  
“I don’t know.. I just knew she was not who she pretended to be”  
Tony smiled:   
“Women’s intuition, your most dangerous superpower”   
Gibbs walked in, Ziva rushed to his desk and asked:  
“What is going to happen now ?”  
“Lieutenant Smith is on his way..”  
“No I’m talking about Mason. What’s gonna happen to him ?”  
Gibbs sighed. He knew his agent was clearly too emotionally invested:   
“Social services are gonna take over”  
“We have to do something Gibbs !”  
Her sentence sounded much more like an order than she had planned.  
Gibbs did not hold it against her and whispered:   
“Rule number 11 Ziva...”  
Ziva burst out:  
“This is not about me Gibbs ! He has already lost his wife, we can’t let him lose his son too”   
Behind her, Tony stood up, aware that he had to intervene to calm her before the situation escalated. He grabbed her arm and said with a soft voice:  
“Hey!”  
She took her arm away and looked at Tony. How could his look be so concerned and soothing at the same time. Her eyes went from Tony to Gibbs and it was as if she just realized who she was talking to.   
Her voice soften and she said:   
“I’m sorry but I can’t walk away like that”  
With that she walked out of the bullpen.  
Gibbs looked at Tony’s concerned eyes and nodded for him to go check on her. 

16

He had been looking through every room of the building to find her. Every restroom, supply rooms, interrogation rooms and empty office. He turned around the corner of a corridor and froze as he saw some steam coming from under the door of the NCIS gym bathroom. He should have known better. He walked inside and his eyes stopped on her clothes, folded on a bench in the middle of the room.   
Ziva was standing still under the shower head, her eyes closed and her mind troubled. She rubbed her face as she heard the door being locked. She knew exactly who she was about to see, standing in the corner of the room if she was stucking her head through the shower curtain.  
Tony’s voice raised:   
“Did you know, there are so many empty offices in that building ? And we have to work in an open space ? We should have a word with Vance”   
No answer came from Ziva. He walked closer to the shower and continued:   
“Doomsday clock just dangerously flirted with midnight back there”  
Ziva opened the shower curtain and lashed out:   
“Now is really not the time to make jokes Tony!”  
Tony walked one step closer to her and unfastened one button of his jacket:  
“Well I expected you to know by now that this is my way of dealing with my concerns”  
He took another step closer while carefully but difficulty keeping his eyes off her naked body. He knew that glancing at it would make his concentration capacities decrease dangerously. He raised his hand to her face and tucked a soaked lock of hair behind her ear and continued with a softer voice, almost whispering:  
“my concerns about you”   
“How can this be so easy for him ?”  
“It’s not. It’s not easy for any of us Ziva. And I know it’s more difficult for you than any of us but fighting Gibbs is not gonna help you. He’s just gonna send you back home”   
Ziva cut him off and groused:  
“Why would this be more difficult for me than anyone else? I am fine Tony”   
Ziva tried to walk out but Tony blocked her with his body:  
“Come on Ziva. We all know this child means much more to you than it does to any of us. You’ve protected him. You’ve done your job. Now you have to let him go.”   
The line between Mason’s story and Ziva’s pregnancy was very thin. Tony cupped her face and pushed her back, entering the shower with her. The water was now running down both of their bodies.   
Ziva gasped as she saw Tony’s suit getting ruined by water:  
“Tony..”  
But Tony did not let her pursue:   
“Let’s turn this page together and let me help you write a new one. It’s been 8 months Ziva, it’s time for us to start something new”   
They looked at each other for a moment that seemed frozen in time. He was the craziest man she had ever met. She looked at the water running down his face and pulled him to her to close the gap between their mouths. The kiss was passionate and eager. Their body expressing their need to reconnect.  
For a moment nothing mattered anymore.   
It was just the two of them, their moment, their reunion, their new beginning.

17

An hour later, Tony walked back into the bullpen wearing new clothes and a towel around his neck with which he was rubbing his wet hair. McGee looked astonished and asked:   
“You took a shower ? You never take showers at work”  
“Yes, so what ? Do I have to report to you every time I do something now ?”   
Tony threw his towel to him which landed on top of his head. He grumbled and took it off.  
A few seconds later Ziva walked in too with a towel tied around her neck. It only took a second for McGee to understand the reason behind Tony’s sudden need for hygiene. He stood up and said:   
“Ok I don’t want to know more”   
Tony sneered and shouted:   
“Oh come on I have plenty of things to tell you that could make you blush, come back”  
But McGee walked away. Ziva looked at McGee, almost running away and asked to Tony with interrogative eyes:  
“What did you say to him?”  
“Nothing, his soul is too pure for that”  
Ziva rolled her eyes and said:   
“Stop bothering him, you know how much he hates when you talk about this”  
“oh yeah, that brother-sister thing again… I still think it’s disgusting by the way”   
The elevator dinged and a man in uniform walked out. Tony nodded in his direction and said to Ziva:  
“Look! It must be Lieutenant Smith”  
Ziva looked at the man and recognized him immediately. He was looking lost and worried. She walked to him:  
“Lieutenant Smith ?”  
“Yes, Ma’am”   
“I’m special agent David, this is special agent DiNozzo”  
“Oh yes I remember you. Where’s my son ?”   
“Don’t worry, I’m gonna take you to him as soon as we are done. We have to talk to you first”   
The soldier followed them to the conference room. 

A moment later.   
Lieutenant Smith was holding his face in his hands, devastated about the news. Ziva felt as if she had just hit that man with a sledgehammer. Tony walked back in the room with a glass of water. The man stammered:  
“So you're telling me that the woman who killed my wife is Mason’s biological mother ?”   
Ziva nodded. The man stood up and paced through the room:  
“She should have told me? Why did she do this”  
Ziva’s voice was very soft, she said:  
“Your wife was diagnosed with endometriosis a few years ago. She knew she could not have children and she also knew how much you wanted to have kids”  
“We could have worked things up. We could have found a solution”   
“She was scared that you might decide to divorce her if you knew she was sterile”   
Lieutenant Smith froze and asked:   
“How do you know all of this ?”  
Ziva took a notebook out from a file and slide it to him:  
“I’ve found your wife’s journal while picking some stuff for Mason at your place. You’ll find all the answers you need”  
He grabbed the notebook and collapsed on a chair. He rubbed his face and asked:   
“What about Mason ? Are they gonna take my son too ?”  
Ziva placed her hands on his and said:  
“We’ll make everything we can to help you get him back as soon as possible”  
He sobbed:   
“When I left the country I was a husband and a father… What do I have left ? I can’t lose him”  
“You are Mason’s father, Lieutenant and he needs you to fight for him.” Ziva paused and a faint smile appeared on her face “I know a man who always says that ‘family is more than just DNA’. You’ve raised him, you’ve protected him and now you are going to fight for him. That makes you Mason’s father more than any DNA tests. We are not going to let you down Lieutenant” 

18

The next day  
Ziva was finishing her report when a familiar babbling caught her attention. She raised her head and looked at the elevator. She smiled as she saw Lieutenant Smith with Mason in his arms, walking to her. Tony stood up and joined Ziva at her desk. Ziva welcomed them with a large smile. Mason held his arms out to her. Ziva said:   
“Hey you”   
As she grabbed Mason and hugged him. Lieutenant Smith said:   
“I wanted to thank you for taking care of him and arresting my wife's murderer”  
“No need to thank us. It’s our job”   
“I also wanted to thank you for helping me get my son back. The social services entrust him to me until the judge gives his final decision. Apparently the letter you wrote was very helpful. I hope we can soon start rebuilding our life”  
“I’m sure you will. We’re going to miss him very much”   
Tony said:  
“Yeah he was part of the team now.”   
Lieutenant Smith held his hand to Tony. Tony shook it and said:  
“You know where to find us. Come and say hi sometimes”  
“We will”  
Ziva kissed Mason and gave him back to his father. Lieutenant Smith added:   
“Thank you for everything you did for us”   
“Take care of him Lieutenant”  
“I will”  
With that, Tony and Ziva looked at Mason and his father walking away. Ziva glanced at Tony and smirked:   
“Are those tears that I see in your eyes Tony ?”  
Tony sneered:   
“Tears ? No, why would I have tears in my eyes ! I mean yeah that was a beautiful moment and I’m glad that we can have happy endings sometimes I mean if we can call that an happy ending but I'm a DiNozzo, DiNozzo’s don’t cry”   
Tony walked back to his desk under Ziva’s mocking eyes. She said:   
“You do know that having emotions does not make you less masculine Tony”   
Tony sneered again:   
“I am very masculine yes thank you for noticing it! But you know I do have emotions” Tony put on his most husky and teasing voice: “I am not only that strong and virile body Ziva. Believe it or not, there is a heart beating inside that very muscular chest Ziva”   
Ziva chuckled and rolled her eyes clearly convinced by Tony’s arguments.


	10. Chapter 10

A few weeks later

Ziva walked out of the elevator with McGee. They stopped as they heard Tony grumbling at his desk:   
“For the hundred time, no I’m not coming to your stupid reunion”   
McGee asked:   
“Is he talking to his computer ?”  
Ziva looked at Tony with interrogative eyes:   
“Apparently..”  
They walked to Tony and Ziva asked:   
“What’s wrong with you ? You were in a great mood this morning, what happened ?”  
Tony bitterly answered:   
“Nothing’s wrong with me, somethings wrong with people ! Why can’t people just take no as an answer ?”   
Ziva sneered and said:   
“That’s a question a lot of women wish to find the answer”   
She walked around Tony’s desk and leaned over his shoulder to look at his computer screen. She read:   
“You are cordially invited to the Remington military Academy student’s reunion. That’s what’s making you in such an awful mood ? Seems like fun to me”   
“No it’s not fun Ziva ! It’s a nightmare. It’s gonna be full of people I don’t want to talk to and who are gonna brag about their amazing jobs and their wonderful wifes and their perfect lives…”   
“Then maybe that’s why you should go and do the same. Brag about your amazing job, your amazing girlfriend and your perfect life…”  
Tony’s mind suddenly snapped. She was right. Tony had always hated those reunions because he had always felt like he had nothing to be proud of but the situation was different now.   
“You would do that for me ? You would join me to the most boring and superficial party you have ever attended ?”  
Ziva smiled:  
“Of course I would. I’ve been invited to diplomatic meetings so trust me I’ve been through worse”   
With that she walked back to her desk, grabbed a file and walked away. Tony leant back on his chair and looked at her with content eyes. He felt the strange feeling of someone staring at him on his right. He looked at McGee and asked with furrowed eyebrows:  
“What’s wrong McCurious?”  
McGee looked at his screens and nonchalantly asked:   
“Are you really sure, you want Ziva to know the details about your high school years Tony ?”  
Tony’s confident smile suddenly faded away:  
“oh crap… OH CRAP!”   
Tony jumped from his chair and ran to the elevator to run after Ziva, under the eyes of an amused McGee. 

20

Friday night.

Ziva was waiting in front of the hotel. Tony was supposed to come and pick her up 20 minutes ago. She checked at her phone. Nothing. Where was he ? She was about to walk back inside when the sound of a roaring car raised from the corner of the street. A vintage red Ferrari parked in front of the building and she knew only one man could step out of it. Tony stepped out with a bunch of flowers and asked:   
“What does a beautiful woman like you do outside alone on such a cold night ?”  
Ziva smirked and walked down the few stairs:   
“I am waiting for my boyfriend but apparently punctuality is not something he is good at”  
Tony walked closer to her:  
“That’s a shame to let a woman like you awaiting”  
Ziva tilted her head and asked as she started to play with Tony’s jacket:   
“A woman like me ?”  
Tony chuckled:  
“Well, you know..”  
“No I don’t”  
Tony looked deeply in her eyes and said:  
“Let’s just say that your boyfriend is a very lucky guy who should feel very sorry right now”  
Ziva squinted her eyes and said:  
“Nice try but you won’t get out of this so easily. Whose car is that ?”   
“Ours. For the night”  
Ziva frowned, Tony explained:   
“Let’s say that someone owed me a favor”  
Tony put on his most charming and self-content smile and asked with his husky voice:  
“Are you sure you still want to go ? I mean we could just get back inside, order a pizza and watch a movie… or work our page 57 together”  
Ziva chuckled:  
“very interesting proposition but I’ll to pass on it… for now”  
She grabbed his car keys and victoriously said:  
“I’ll drive”   
Tony panicked as he saw her running to the driver seat:  
“Wait no Ziva! I’ve promised that guy I would bring it back in one piece. Ziva ! Wait”   
Tony rushed to the car as he heard the engine roaring again:  
“Easy, easy on the gas pedal ok, you can’t drive this like you drive your mini...”  
His sentence barely finished, Ziva hit the gas pedal and made the tires squeals echoing Tony’s screams.

21

The car entered the parking lot in a symphony of tire screeching and engine roaring. Ziva stepped on the brake pedal and the car came to a sudden stop.   
On the passenger seat, Tony was trying to catch his breath but most of all to keep the content of his stomach inside. He slowly turned his head to the side to look at Ziva. She was smiling at him. Tony quickly took the car keys and grumbled as he stepped out of the car:   
“No more Ferrari for you!”   
Ziva complained:  
“You said you didn’t want the car to be damaged. The car is fine”  
“Yes the car is fine, I would not be so sure about all the people you almost killed on our way here”  
“You can’t blame me for that, your road directions were late, I had to improvise”   
Tony sighed, grabbed her hand and led her to the building. His ninja would never change.   
Tony was wearing his most expensive suit and Ziva was dressed with a beautiful black dress that was highlighting her back and her legs.   
Tony took a deep breath before going inside.   
He thought:   
“Come on DiNozzo! You are a federal agent! You risk your life every day! It’s not a bunch of old fellas that are going to scare you”   
Ziva tightened her grasp on his hand and smiled at him. They were together, that’s the only thing that mattered. As they walked in, the music, the lights and the crowded space suddenly overwhelmed Tony. He pulled Ziva to him and said:   
“I’m gonna need a drink. Stay here, I’ll get us something at the bar”   
He walked to the bar to order a drink for himself and Ziva. He needed something strong. He heard a voice raising from behind him:   
“Anthony DiNozzo… that’s a face I thought I would never see again.”   
Tony rolled his eyes and sighed before turning to face the man who was talking to him. He put on his most fake smile and said:   
“Andrew Parker. It’s been a while”   
Andrew shook Tony’s hand and said:   
“Nice to see you man ! How are you doing ? Still playing cops and robbers for a living?”   
Tony bitterly laughed:   
“I’m a federal agent now. I’m arresting the bad guys that you endeavor to set free”   
Andrew laughed:   
“You haven’t changed, except for those wrinkles. I can give you the name of my surgeon, he does miracles. No Mrs DiNozzo? Why am I not surprised”   
Tony bitterly laughed:  
“What about you ? How many Mrs Parker did you bamboozled ?”  
“Ah you know me, I’ve never been a ‘one woman’ man. Oh wow speaking of woman, I think I’ve just found Mrs Parker number 3”   
Tony turned to look at the woman and saw Ziva, looking for him through the crowded room. He smirked and waved at her.   
Andrew said:   
“You know her ? Oh man you have to introduce me to her ! I wanna know more about those legs”   
Tony tried to hide his jubilation. As Ziva reached them Tony said:   
“Hey, Ziva. There’s someone here I would like to introduce to you. This is Andrew Parker. Andrew, this is Ziva David my girlfriend”   
Andrew’s jaw fell. His eyes were going back and forth between Tony and Ziva. Tony looked at him with a proud grin on his face. Andrew was speechless. He shook Ziva’s hand and stammered:   
“You’re girlfriend ? Wow, looks like you haven’t lost your game pal, I’m impressed. Nice to meet you Ziva. Well I’ll see you later, enjoy the night”  
Andrew walked away leaving Tony and Ziva alone. As he saw his walking away, Tony said:   
“Do you know why I hate lawyers so much? They are all like him, snooty, arrogant and cocky. He had been a pain in my ass for the entire year I’ve spent here”   
Ziva smirked and bit her lip to refrain herself from laughing. She finally said:   
“I don’t know what snooty means but for the rest, I’m amazed that you two did not become best friends”  
And she walked away. Tony stayed speechless for a moment before shouting:   
“Hey! I might be cocky sometimes but I’m nothing like that guy… Ziva! Come back here, we need to talk” 

22

When Tony finally caught Ziva up, he found her standing in front of framed pictures on a wall. Ziva asked:   
“Is that you ?”  
She pointed at a poor quality picture of a young man, wearing a basketball uniform and proudly holding a basketball against his hip. Tony gasped as he saw that old picture of him and said:   
“Yes it’s me… Go on make fun of me…”  
Ziva cut him off:  
“I was not going to make fun of you. Actually I was about to say that you looked very.. handsome”  
She pointed at him on a class picture, in school uniform this time and said:  
“And I have to say that this uniform suited you pretty well”   
“Well, I have to say that it was kind of a chick magnet back in the days. Ladies loved the prestige of the uniform and I surely got in a lot of trouble for bringing them inside the school. Do you think we would have been friends ? Back in the days ?”   
Ziva chuckled:  
“Well.. I was certainly not the kind of girl you would have been interested in. I was not one of those girly and delicate little things you were dating”   
Tony walked closer to her and said with his husky voice:   
“Really ? I think that’s what would have made you even more interesting”   
Tony grabbed her waist and pushed her against the wall for a long and tender kiss.   
Too focused on each other’s mouth, they did not notice the sound of shoe lifts that were coming to them. Tony jumped in surprise as he heard:   
“Mister DiNozzo… Why am I not surprised ?”  
Tony turned to face the old man in military uniform standing in front of him. He stammered, still out of breath from a long and hot kiss:   
“Co..Colonel Wright”   
Tony was almost standing to attention which made Ziva smirk. He swallowed hard:   
“I didn’t know you were still in charge”   
“I will rule this academy until my last breath, Mister DiNozzo. I have read about your great achievement in Ohio State and not only athletically. I’ve heard you were working for the NAVY now, looks like you’ve finally found your way. Too bad that your interest for law and discipline came so late. Your interest in women was rivalled only by your interest in breaking the rules” He looked at his watch and said “I’m going to be late for my speech. Enjoy the rest of the evening”  
He walked away, leaving a grumbling Tony.   
Ziva asked:   
“Are you ok ?”  
“That man always hated me. He kept repeating to my dad that I would end up dead or in jail by the age of 30. Nothing was ever enough for him. ‘Order and discipline will make you a man DiNozzo’. I kept hearing that sentence for years after I left high school. He’s the most paranoid man I’ve ever met. For an entire year I’ve made him believe that the CIA was spying on him.”  
Ziva chuckled:  
“And you are still wondering why that man did not like you ?”   
Tony grabbed Ziva’s hand and led her through a maze of corridors. Ziva complained:   
“Tony where are you taking me ?”   
For only answer Tony let out:  
“There’s something I’ve always wanted to do” 

23

An hour later.  
Ziva walked out of the ladies room when her way was suddenly blocked by a man’s arm. She raised her head and saw Andrew smirking at her. He did not gave her time to talk and said:  
“Ziva right ? That’s funny I was actually thinking about you”   
Ziva politely smiled and said:   
“Sorry I have to go, Tony is waiting for me”  
She dodged his arm but he blocked her again. Ziva could feel her anger raised inside. She hated to feel trapped like that, even more by a stranger.   
Andrew said:   
“Are you leaving already ? That’s too bad because I would really like to know more about you. I’m just curious, is it serious between DiNozzo and you ? I mean, I don’t want to be rude but I’m not sure DiNozzo is the right guy for you”  
“What’s good for me is none of your business..”  
“hum.. Fiery are we ? I like that. I like women with a hot mind in a hot body...”  
His look fell on her body and he undressed her with his eyes. He grabbed Ziva’s waist and blocked her on the wall. She had controlled herself for way too long, she was about to explode. His hands and his dirty look on her body combined with his behavior like he has rights on her body were too much for her self control capacity. She grabbed his hand and twisted his wrist. Andrew moaned and uncontrolably fell on his knees. Andrew begged:  
“ok, ok I’m sorry, you don’t like straightforward men I got it”

Tony walked to a group of people, hoping to find Ziva there too. His jaw fell when he saw Andrew begging on his knees, submitted by an angry Ziva. He rushed to them. As he saw him, Andrew begged:   
“Dude, tell her to let go of me”  
“Ziva what are you doin’ ?”  
Andrew said:  
“Haven’t done anything man, we were just talking and she attacked me”  
Ziva twisted his wrist a little more and Andrew moaned:   
“Ok, ok. Fine, I might have been a little too insistent”  
A group of people were now gathered around them. Ziva bent forward and said:   
“Don’t you ever touch a woman like that again”   
And she let go of Andrew’s wrist.  
Andrew fell forward and rubbed his wrist.  
As Tony and Ziva were turning their back on him Andrew said:   
“You’ve always been good at picking teasing bitch”   
Tony froze and his jaw clenched. Ziva felt his grip tightening on her hand.   
She said:  
“Tony don’t”   
He turned on his heels and walked back to Andrew. He stood still in front of him and gave him a pat on the shoulder with a confident smile. A second later Tony landed a strong headbutt on Andrew’s nose. Ziva gasped as she saw Tony’s head crash on Andrew’s who moaned and fell backward. Tony adjusted his jacket and said:   
“I’ve dreamed about this moment for years ! Now we can get outta here”  
Tony grabbed Ziva’s hand and led her to the exit with a satisfied grin on his face. 

24  
Tony and Ziva exited the room under the dismayed eyes of the guests. They ran outside under the pouring rain. After a few yards of running under the rain, Tony stopped and said:  
“Oh gosh ! You have no idea how good this felt”   
He pulled her to him and his lips crashed on hers.  
After a long kiss he said:  
“Thank you”  
Ziva chuckled:  
“For what ?”  
“For pushing me to face my demons! I’ve always had that unachieved feeling inside for so many years and I didn’t know where it came from. And it’s gone now ”   
Tony was ecstatic. He looked like he was high on adrenaline, as if he had just bungee jumped out of a bridge. They were both standing in the middle of a parking lot with the rain pouring on them but he did not care. He pulled her to him for another long and tender kiss that he suddenly broke to say:  
“Wait.. this is it”   
“What ?”  
“The big three of romantic dates: the opera, the beach picnic and the impromptu dancing in the rain and we both know that I’ve already nailed the opera thing”  
Ziva cocked her head and said with a smirk:  
“but we are not dancing”  
Tony grabbed her hand and made her spin:  
“Let me fix that”   
Ziva laughed and spun around. Tony pulled her back against his body and slowly danced with her. He locked his eyes on hers and asked:   
“Come live with me, Ziva”   
She gasped and Tony felt her body tense. She stayed mouth agape for a moment, She was clearly not expecting his last sentence.   
Tony continued:   
“I know it seems premature, we’ve been together for less than a year but so many things happened. So many things that should have torn us apart but it brought us together. And it scares the hell out of me to make this big leap of faith but if there’s someone I want to make this scary jump it’s with you. This place made me a man and I really hope that one day, you’ll make me a father. It does not have to be now, it does not have to be tomorrow but what I’m sure is that I want it to be you. It has always been you, Ziva”   
Ziva was still speechless. She was expecting a joke or a long monologue about his young years as a student, but she was not expecting him to make such a powerful declaration. She needed time to process all the things he had just said. Tony took her hand and asked:   
“Are you ok ?”   
Tony cursed himself. Another woman was about to run away from him because he scared her with his big romantic declaration. He smiled:   
“Forget it. It’s the rain.. it’s making me mawkishly sentimental”   
“yes”  
Tony felt so ashamed. He turned his back on her and winced. She was probably going to mock him for the rest of their life. He played the alpha male for so many years with her and ruined it all in one night. He swallowed hard to get himself ready to face her again. He took a deep breath and turned back. She was looking at him with a faint smirk. Tony frowned:   
“what’s wrong ?”  
Ziva raised an eyebrow and said:  
“I said yes”  
Tony walked closer with questioning eyes:  
“Yes ? As in.. yes”   
“Yes as in get me out of the rain before I change my mind”   
A large smile appeared on Tony’s face as he understood. He grabbed Ziva and lifted her up from the ground. He ran to the car with a giggling Ziva in his arms. 

The sound of a foot kick on the door broke the silence in the apartment. The door of Tony’s apartment swung open. Tony appeared with a pile of cardboard boxes in his arms. The pile was so high that it was blocking his vision. He groaned and dropped the boxes on top of his dining room table. He took a second to take his breath. He was all sweaty and his arms were sore. Why did the elevator have to be in maintenance the exact day they had picked for Ziva’s moving. He walked to the bedroom and said:   
“These are the last ones. I think we’re done. What’s that ?”  
He said as he pointed at a huge case. As he unlocked it, Ziva answered nonchalantly:   
“it’s just one of my gun”   
Tony’s eyes widened as he discovered the said ‘gun’. A IWI Dan sniper rifle. He gasped:   
“You can’t call that a gun Ziva… Calling that a ‘just a gun’ is like driving a Tank and calling it ‘just your car’”  
Ziva shrugged. Tony continued:   
“Do I have to be prepared to stumble on a rocket launcher under the couch or what ?”   
Ziva looked at him and again she nonchalantly answered:  
“Don’t worry, I do not keep those in my place”  
Tony frowned. It was not the answer he was waiting for. She was obviously not giving him a lot of attention. She was sitting on the floor, going through items he had never seen before. He walked to her and sat next to her.   
“What is this ?”   
“old stuff.. From Mossad”  
Tony glanced at the stuff inside the box. Mostly knives and old papers written in hebrew. A picture dragged his attention. He grabbed it and said:   
“Is that you ?”  
Ziva glanced at the picture and said:  
“Yes, it’s me and my mother. I think it was on my 13th birthday”   
“You look happy”  
Ziva swallowed hard and said:   
“Yes, I ‘look’ happy, that’s it”  
Her insistence on the use of the word ‘look’ awakened Tony’s curiosity. He knew this was a subject Ziva never discussed if she was not forced to. She needed to open up. He looked at her with insistence to indicate that he needed more than just this enigmatic answer. She said:   
“They were divorcing at that time and of course my father was not there. His work was always going first”  
Ziva sighed:  
“She has always tried to protect me from him but it was too late. I know she always blamed me for choosing his path, just like I’ve always blamed him for not protecting her after”   
Tony put the picture back inside the box and said:   
“She would be proud of you Ziva”   
“I’ve become everything she hated...”  
“...but you are not that person anymore. You’ve changed. You are not Eli David’s deadly weapon anymore. You are a federal agent. You protect people. How about we let those old memories aside for now and we focus on the future ? Let’s start with dinner. How about I make you my specialty: the ‘DiNozzo lasagna’. The best lasagna you’ll find in all D.C”   
“sounds tasty”  
Tony grabbed her hand and pulled her up to get her back on her feet. He added with a charming grin:   
“My dear, that’s an understatement. You will discover flavors that you’ve never experienced before”   
Ziva chuckled as he lovingly led her to the kitchen with teasing eyes. 

Dinner was ready. Tony and Ziva were both sitting on the floor of the living room, surrounding a partially eaten dish of lasagna that they were sharing and glasses of red wine. The dining room table was cluttered with boxes, just like every other piece of furniture in the apartment. It was a pretty uncommon way to spend their first ‘living together’ dinner but Tony liked it even more that way. No fuss needed between them. A carpet, a warm fireplace, great food and delicious wine.   
Tony was lying on his side, propped on one of his elbows. He asked teasingly:  
“So ? What do you think ?”   
Ziva took a bite out of the dish with her fork and shrugged:  
“Not bad”   
“Not bad ? Don’t you try to mess with my lasagna”  
“Your lasagna ? I did most of the work ! You were too busy trying to get into my pants the whole time”   
Tony chuckled. She was pretty right about this. His hands had been more on her body than on kitchen tools. He shrugged and said:   
“What can I say.. I’ve always been more of a dessert kind of guy”   
He had said that with his husky voice, while leaning to her to land a tender kiss on her lips.   
Ziva took a sip of red wine and said:   
“I didn’t know you could cook. Your fridge is always empty. You should do this more often”   
“This is one of the many talents I have, that you don’t know about yet.” He took a sip of wine and continued “I used to cook a lot with my mother. That’s a thing we use to share. That and movies of course. Sometimes we were cooking while watching movies. That’s why I only do it for special occasions or special people”  
He winked at her to emphasize his definition of special people. He continued:   
“My father used to say..” he took his Senior’s voice “..Cooking is like making love Junior, you do it well or you do not do it at all. Although I never saw him cooking anything”  
Ziva chuckled:   
“I used to cook with my mother for Shabbat. We were going to the synagogue with Tali, just the three of us. Then we were going back home to cook Shabbat meals. Challah, Kemia and all sorts of things” She gasped “oh my mother’s Challah was the best. Then my father would come home and say the kiddush before we start dinner”   
Tony was listening to her with great attention. He loved seeing her opening up about her childhood. She looked at him and blushed:   
“Sorry.. I got carried away”   
“It’s ok” He grabbed a bite of lasagna and nonchalantly added with a mouthful of lasagna: “but now, you’ll have to introduce me to your mother’s challah”  
Ziva chuckled:   
“Oh no, trust me it will never be as good as hers and it’s been a while since I’ve cooked these”  
“Oh look, another reason to do it. Don’t try to duck out of it Dah-veed. You’ve teased me, now you’ll have to delight me with those shabbat meals”  
She looked at him with squinted eyes knowing that he will never let go.   
He took her glass of wine away and placed it on the coffee table behind her. He said with teasing eyes and voice:  
“How about we get some dessert now ?”   
She fell on her back as he leant over her and Ziva said:  
“And what kind of dessert are we talking about here ?”  
“The kind of hot dessert that needs a little bit of preparation and a lot of savoir-faire”  
He did not let her time to answer as his lips crashed on hers and his hands fell on her hips. 

When Tony entered the bullpen, the air was heavy with tension. He quickly glanced at the people working around. They were like prey, hiding away from a predator. ‘What was going on here ?’ he thought. He walked to his desk and by Ziva’s sharp way of typing on her keyboard, he knew something was wrong. He glanced at McGee and he saw that scared look on his face. Tony took a second before asking:  
“Do I have to call the bomb squad to diffuse whatever conflict is going on here ?”   
Tony looked at Ziva with questioning eyes. She looked furiously at McGee and said:   
“You ask him.. I’m not the one who shrew things up here !”   
Tony corrected her:  
“Screw.. A shrew is a small animal with a pointed nose..”  
She grabbed a file and walked out of the room. Tony looked at her, exiting the room. Seeing her so upset was scaring him as much as it was turning him on:  
“Wow.. I haven’t seen her so upset since the last time I…” He stopped himself from going further “...whatever”  
He turned to McGee with semi worried, semi curious eyes and walked to him. On his way he fastened one of his jacket’s button and asked:   
“What did you do to unleash the beast McDoomed ?”  
“Nothing”   
Tony chuckled:  
“Oh trust me Probie, you should accept your fate and confess your sins if you want to survive this. What is it ?”  
McGee sighed:   
“I’ve just told it to you… Nothing”   
Tony looked at his co-worker with a raised eyebrow. McGee explained:   
“Two days ago was Delilah's birthday. I’ve asked her what kind of gift she wanted and she said she didn’t want any so...”   
Tony gasped:   
“You did not !”  
McGee said in a baffled way:  
“How was I supposed to know that she actually wanted a gift ?”  
Tony chuckled:  
“probie.. probie.. probie.. You still have a lot to learn. First rule with women: do the opposite of what they say. Actually this rule only applied to certain conditions, ok. For example, when Ziva tells me that it’s ok for me to go out without her at night, I know I better stay at home with her if I want to live a long and healthy life”  
“Women are too complicated”   
Tony sneered:   
“It wouldn’t be so fun if they were not. How did our favorite Mossad assassin’s find out ?”  
“Apparently Delilah and her are chatting..” McGee sighed again “We have only been together for 4 months and I already feel like it’s too much for me”   
Tony gave a friendly pat on McGee’s shoulder and said with a mocking grin as he walked back to his desk:   
“You’ll learn McNewbie… You’ll learn”   
“I’m gonna regret that but… Can you help me make things right ?”   
Tony froze and a large smile appeared on his face. He turned to McGee and said:   
“I thought you would never ask”   
McGee rolled his eyes, knowing that Tony was probably his last solution. Tony sat on his desk and said:  
“First you’ll need flowers, a lot of them. Can you cry on demand ?”  
McGee sighed:  
“Ok forget it, it was a bad idea”   
Tony shrugged and said:  
“Ok then. I’ll let you deal with Ziva too then. Good luck with that, it was nice to know you McGee”   
McGee knew he had no other solution:  
“Ok fine..”   
He grabbed his phone to order some flowers.

6.45am.   
It was the beginning of a regular Wednesday morning in Washington D.C. Outside, the weather was clear and the temperature not too cold. The tree had begun to lose their leaves and there were not a lot of people in the street at such an early hour of the day. The perfect conditions for a run.   
Ziva was in the living room, sitting on the armrest of the couch, tying her running shoes. She was wearing her yoga pants and a simple tank top under her windbreaker.   
Her shoes laced, she stood up, grabbed her phone, put her earpieces on her ears and grabbed her keys. As she was walking to the door Tony appeared. He was stretching his arms and back with a large smile on his face. She was surprised not to see him wearing his regular suit. He was actually dressed with sports clothes. She raised an eyebrow and asked:   
“What are you doing ?”  
“I’m coming with you”  
Ziva sneered and said:   
“No you don’t”  
He insisted:   
“Yes I want to start running with you to work. Come on, I need to sharpen that body a little bit”  
Ziva tried to walk past him and said:  
“Tony I’m not sure this is a good idea… I run from here to NAVY YARD. It’s not a run for beginners and I don’t want to be late to work”   
“You won’t be late to work. Come on it’s going to be fun. It’s a great couple activity don’t you think”   
Ziva looked at him knowing that he would not change his mind. She rolled her eyes and sighed:  
“Alright..”  
Tony smiled but Ziva immediately cut him off:  
“BUT you have to promise me you won’t complain !”  
Tony sneered:   
“Me ? Complaining ? You got me confused with someone else”   
“You won’t complain that I’m running too fast, you won’t complain because we are not stopping to get coffee, you won’t complain that your shoes are hurting your toes!”  
Tony raised his hand and solemnly said:   
“I promise”

Bullpen 8.30am  
McGee was looking at Gibbs with worried eyes. His boss was angry. His two agents were late. He checked his watch when the elevator doors dinged. McGee’s eyes widened as he saw Ziva walking in, supporting a red, out of breath and sweaty DiNozzo. He was looking like he was about to die any minute from now. Ziva yelled:  
“McGee ! Chair !”  
McGee jumped from his chair and rushed to Tony’s desk chair. He rolled it to the alley and Tony collapsed on it. Ziva was exhausted too. McGee asked worriedly:   
“What happened ?”  
Ziva bitterly but worriedly said:   
“He wanted to run with me… I’ve told him this was a bad idea but he won’t listen”   
Gibbs, McGee and Ziva were looking at Tony. He was looking tormented and he was definitely too quiet. Gibbs asked:   
“What’s wrong with him”  
Ziva smirked and said:   
“He promised he would not complain”  
Gibbs smirked, rolled his eyes and said as he walked back to his desk:   
“Let it out DiNozzo”   
A second later Tony bursted out:   
“6 MILES ! WE RAN 6 MILES !!! OH MY GOD MY FEET ARE KILLING ME ! THIS WAS A NIGHTMARE ! I THINK I’M HAVING A HEART ATTACK ! CALL AN AMBULANCE, DUCKY, A PRIEST ! ANYONE MCGEE!” 

Tony and McGee walked inside the elevator, both focused on their discussion. The door closed and McGee said:   
“On the desk of your high school director ? Really ? What if he had caught you ?”   
“Well it’s all the point McGee ! Playing with this risk to get caught makes things even more exciting”   
The door of the elevator dinged and they both walked out of it. McGee said:  
“I could never do that”  
“What ? Oh come on McGee! Don’t tell me that you only had sex in a bed”  
“Yes Tony ! I don’t see what’s wrong with this ?”   
Tony threw his bag to the ground and gasped:   
“This is depressing and unoriginal. Even for you McBoring”   
“I like the comfort of a bed, what's unoriginal with that ? Please tell him Ziva”  
As McGee turned to Ziva, she raised her head from her screen and stayed agape for a second which gave Tony enough time to say:   
“Don’t ask her McConventional, the girl had her first time on the back of a truck”  
Ziva retorted:   
“It was not a truck it was a weapon carrier ! And it’s way more comfortable than you think”  
Tony sneered:   
“Yeah sure if you like the feeling of cold steel on your butt”   
Ziva threw a dark look at him:  
“Whatever this is about I don’t want to be involved”   
Tony asked:   
“Come on tell him Ziva.. Where’s the most weird and exciting place you had sex ?”  
Tony looked at her with teasing eyes, already knowing her answer.   
She hesitated for a moment before answering:   
“Well.. I would say that the office of an high school director was weird enough”  
McGee let his phone drop as he heard Ziva’s answer and stammered:   
“Wait.. You mean…” his eyes went from Tony to Ziva “the same high school director Tony told me about ?”  
Tony smirked, happy that his trap worked.   
“Oh my god I thought you were talking about your high school year not your student reunion !”   
“If you’d asked me I would have told you McProbie”  
McGee sighed and grumbled as he walked away from them. Tony looked at him with mocking eyes when Ziva’s voice raised:   
“You like it huh…”   
“What ?”  
“Making him uncomfortable”  
“You should have seen his naive face, he was so cute thinking that I was talking about an old high school memory”   
Ziva chuckled and said:   
“He’s going to be grumpy all day now”   
“A grumpy McGee means that I did my job well”  
Ziva rolled her eyes and tried to focus back on her work with an amused smile on her face. 

Tony and McGee have been sitting in the car for almost an hour. The suspect they were after was apparently not ready to come home. Tony grabbed the binoculars and looked through them, letting a long sigh of boredom escape:   
“He’s never gonna show up. I’m sure he knows we are after him”  
McGee did not answer. His mind had been somewhere else all morning. Tony turned his head to him, the binoculars still in front of his eyes and asked:  
“What’s wrong with you McGoo ? You’re very close of making me regret stakeout with Ziva”  
“You don’t like stakeouts with Ziva ?”  
“I like stakeouts with Ziva. What I don’t like is that she does not respect traditions. She always grabs healthy food! The very principle of stakeout is greasy and unhealthy food ! What’s the interest of freezing our asses off in a car all day if we cannot be rewarded with junk food ?”  
McGee rolled his eyes and focused back on the street, not willing to start a debate on this subject. Tony frowned, concerned that his friend was not trying to argue with him like he used to. He said:  
“Are you ok, McGee ?”  
McGee hesitated for a moment and finally asked:   
“How did you know that you loved her ? I mean I did you know that it was more than just physical attraction”  
Tony’s eyes widened and he gasped, surprised by this unexpected question. He could have started with his usual jokes but the subject seemed to be important for his coworker. He said:  
“Well…” Tony was trying to find the best way to explain this “you know that show I’m watching every week ? The one you have to watch live otherwise you can get easily spoiled ?” McGee nodded, not really sure where he was trying to go with this. Tony continued “I’ve waited 5 days for Ziva to watch it with me”  
McGee rolled his eyes and sighed, convinced that Tony was messing with him again.  
But Tony was more than serious. He continued:   
“Ziva and I…It has always been different, you know. We’ve always had that.. ‘connection’. I’ve tried so hard to look away, to keep her out of my mind but she was always there, in everything I do. No matter how hard she was pushing me away, or how hard I was trying to let her go. It never worked. She makes me wanna become a better man and watching my favorite show doesn’t make any sense if she’s not here to watch it with me. Do you understand ?”  
McGee nodded again and said:  
“I think Delilah is the one. I think she’s my Ziva”   
Tony smirked and said:   
“Then my friend, you are as doomed as I am and you would be the most stupid man on this planet to walk away from that curse”   
Tony lean forward to get close to McGee’s face and said with a serious and threatening voice:  
“Now, if you tell Ziva what I’ve just told you, I will tell her who dropped that cup of coffee on her case report last week”  
McGee swallowed hard:  
“You’ve sweared you wouldn’t tell her”   
“And I won’t.. If you keep your mouth shut”   
McGee nodded, too scared to face the anger of his highly trained assassin of a coworker.

Another case was keeping the team awake at night for the last 4 days. Gibbs was in the bullpen, facing the plasma screen, surrounded by his 3 agents. They were exposing their theories one after the other. Tony stated that the last time their victim was seen was in a local strip club. Gibbs walked to his desk and said:   
“Fine, take Ziva with you”   
Tony winced as he walked to his boss’ desk:  
“Boss can I take McGee with me ? It’s surely not a place for a lady”   
Gibbs ignored his request and walked away. Ziva threw her backpack over her shoulder and deliberately bumped into Tony when he turned around. She said:   
“First of all, I’m not a lady, second how do you know what this place is like ?”   
She looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. Tony said with assurance:  
“I don’t need to go to this place to know what it’s like inside. It’s a stripclub, they look all the same”   
“hm hm..”   
Ziva frowned and grabbed the car keys from his hand. Before following her Tony turned to McGee and whispered:   
“I’m dead”   
McGee waved at him with a large mocking smile on his face. 

Later   
Tony parked the car in front of the club and said:   
“You know maybe it’s better if you stay in the car Ziva. Maybe they will be more inclined to talk to a man than a woman”   
Ziva looked at him with furrowed eyebrows again and stepped out of the car without answering. As she walked to the entrance Tony sighed and quickly followed her as he saw the security guard stopping her at the gate.  
“Sorry Ma’am we’re closed”  
Tony waved his badge and add:  
“I think we’re gonna come in anyway”   
The security guard rolled his eyes and let them get inside.   
Tony and Ziva walked in. The place was dark, only enlightened by fluorescent lights.   
Ziva looked around and said:  
“This is pretty cozy”  
Tony chuckled and said:  
“Since when did you become an expert in strip club Ziva”   
Ziva looked at him with teasing eyes and said:  
“You know Tony, I’ve had to work in places worse than this one. Actually this place would have been heaven”   
Tony froze, mouth agape:   
“Wait. You’ve had to work in a strip club ?”  
Ziva smirked:  
“You get a lot of information from men in this kind of place. They are looking at you yes, but they don’t notice you. So they talk.. and trust me, they say a lot of things they should not say in front of a stranger”  
With that, she walked to the bar, leaving a speechless Tony, imagining Ziva working in a strip club as an undercover agent. He stammered:  
“Wait ! I want to know more about this !”

The man behind the bar sighed as he saw Ziva coming to him and shouted:  
“Jessy ! Derek let someone in again ! Go tell that dumbass that next time I’m firing his ass”   
The man smiled to Ziva and as he undressed her with his eyes he said:   
“We’re closed but of course sweetheart for you I’ll make an exception”   
Tony reached them out and said:  
“A, she’s not your sweetheart, she’s a federal agent and B, can you make an exception for me too or do I have to put on some high heels and very tiny underwear ?”  
The man grumbled as he saw Tony’s badge but he answered their question without objecting. 

Their interrogation done,Tony and Ziva were about to leave when a high pitched woman’s voice raised from behind Ziva:  
“Tonyyyyyyy!”  
Tony gasped as he saw the very lightly clothed woman walking to them. She clung onto Tony’s neck and said:  
“Oh my god Tony, it’s been a while”   
Tony was feeling more than uncomfortable. He could clearly see Ziva’s jaw clenching a little bit more every time this woman was pressing her body against Tony’s. Tony was holding his hands up in order to avoid any other physical touch to that woman. He stammered:  
“Jessy… yeah… Sorry… I’ve been pretty busy..”  
Ziva stepped closer and whispered to the strippers ears:  
”If you want to keep those very manicured hands attached to the rest of your body, I suggest you back off now”  
Jessy looked at Tony with scared eyes and he said:  
“You should do what she says”   
Jessy released her grasp on Tony’s neck and walked away. Tony was looking away, doing his best to avoid Ziva’s dark look. When his eyes finally crossed Ziva’s judging look, he said:  
“You know, contrary to what you might think, this girl has a degree in law”  
Ziva sneered and said:   
“Oh if her IQ is proportional to her measurements then yeah she’s a genius”  
Tony sighed:  
“You know I don’t like big breast”   
Ziva froze and bitterly asked:  
“What’s that supposed to mean”   
“Ok time out, somebody please get me out of here. Your body is perfect, you don’t have to be jealous of these women because I will never worship their body as much as I worship your amazing body. Are we good ? Can I get out of this alive”  
Ziva looked at him with furrowed eyebrows and clicked her tongue with a light smirk on her face. 

As they stepped inside the car Tony said:   
“And you really have to tell me more about that undercover mission as a stripper. Tell me you have pictures”  
Ziva chuckled:  
“If you’re good…”


End file.
